


Ab imo pectore\\ Tom Riddle x Fem OC

by Sweetgirl_r



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Black OC, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Healthy feminist, Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, Manipulative Tom Riddle, Possessive Tom Riddle, Slow Burn, Teenage Tom Riddle, The oc isn’t annoying, Tom is bad and mean, Tom is not nice, Two worlds, Uagadou (Harry Potter), Young Tom Riddle, black heroine, making out scenes, the oc is a feminist, the oc isn’t stupid
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:35:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 104,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24545500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweetgirl_r/pseuds/Sweetgirl_r
Summary: In which Rosalie is forced to transfer to Hogwarts from Uagadou, and somehow gets thrusted into Tom Riddle’s life.In the autumn of 1942, Rosalie was forced to transfer from her magnificent African wizarding school, It wasn't every-night your lovely grandmother chokes you in your sleep. It wasn't everyday you see your regretful older self telling you what to do. And it wasn't everyday you fall in love with the future dark lord.Starring a black Hufflepuff heroine.
Relationships: Tom Riddle/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 63
Kudos: 37





	1. The Introduction.

**The characters:**

* * *

**Tom Marvolo Riddle:**

* * *

**Rosalie Abella:**

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**Abraxas Malfoy:**

* * *

**Leo Hornby:**

* * *

**Elizabeth Potter:**

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**Eileen prince:**

* * *

**Minerva McGonagall:**

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**olive Hornby:**

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**Orion Black:**

* * *

**  
****Ariadne** **Meadows:**

* * *

**Fida Abella:**

* * *

**Zane Abella:**

* * *

**Summary:**

**When Rosalie came to her grandparents house after a long year in the prestigious wizarding school; Uagadou, Her features matured to finally show she was the spitting image of her muggle mother. Fida, Her grandmother was furious, she tried to remind herself that who's in front of her is not Victoria, Rosalie mother. But her hatred got the best of her to end up choking Rosalie in her sleep. Rosalie almost died, Zane, Rosalie father instantly fled from the house with his daughter.**

**They ended up in a rural area in London, Zane becoming an Auror and sending Rosalie to Hogwarts, for her fifth year. She meets the strange Tom Riddle, He who definitely dislikes her.**

* * *

Ab imo pectore means from the bottom of my heart. I won't be using first pov at all, never, ~~I would rather die than commit this crime~~. I don't own anything, Harry potter belongs to jk rowling. please don't sue me. 

This story isn't your average love story, it will contain toxicity and abuse, if you're not comfortable with that then please leave. some of the characters have no relevance to the Harry potter story at all, they're just characters I made up with fake names but with actual family names from harry potter series. I hope you like my book, if you don't then that's cool, just give me a constructive criticism on why and how I should improve it, thank you :) 

I will finish this story so, please don't get worried about me leaving it un-done. I already constructed the story timeline and my passion for this story and idea is very deep, especially since there are no stories about Uagado. I think the dynamic of a strong african girl and Tom riddle is very interesting, upon my personal opinion; It's very different and the main characters are very different from each other, they do have an equal level on power. But you will soon find out that Rosalie doesn't have the Bella swan Syndrome (no personality & life before meeting the protagonist) Rosalie is a strong girl with a strong personality, She's very bubbly and friendly, that's why she is sorted in hufflepuff. 


	2. Uagadou backstory.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is only a story I made up, j.k.rowling didn't put any history yet. so, for now to this story this is going to be the history of Uagadou. I put many information that seems accurate to the ancient culture of African countries, this happened way before colonizers invaded Africa, this also happens before Hogwarts. Uagadou is canonically older than Hogwarts.

**Uagadou: A History,**

A very long time ago, from different tribes in Africa that possibly didn't know that other tribes than them existed.

 _First woman, her name was Uos_. She was the daughter of the leader of the tribe. Uos loved adventures and exploring very much, She always thought her place wasn't to be someone wife, She knew she wanted to leave home to find new things, experiance new things. from a very young age, Uos was able to control and manipulate Air. No one knew about her ability, and she didn't tell anyone. The day of her forced arranged marriage, The sky was very cloudy, Soon storms came in finished the small huts. The only person that was able to protect her tribe was Uos.

She expected love and praise from her tribe, all she got was get banished from the village at the age of sixteen. She was sent to a faraway rain-forest unlike her village desert climate.

 _Second woman, her name was Geda_. She was the daughter of a pauper, her father was very poor and worked often in looking after the fire at night, he would get paid some food that was barely enough for him and Geda. Geda father would sometimes doze in unwanted but much needed rest while looking after the fire. The fire would always die in those moments, Geda would always light them up with her ability to manipulate and ignite fire. However, she was caught igniting the fire one night by a warrior, He abused her under the cries of Geda father. Geda was very smart and brave, She never gave the man satisfaction to know he caused her pain. Thus, Geda was banished as well, sent very far into a rainforest down the mountain they lived at.

 _Third woman, her name was Dor_. Dor couldn't manipulate elements like Geda and Uos. However, she was able to talk to animals, She lived in an area with many greenery. with greenery available, animals exist there. her mother was a Shepherd, seeking and taking care of thousands of sheeps and cows. one thing Dor mother and the rest of the village didn't understand was how thousands of un-tamed creatures never escaped. Until one night, Dor was found by a nosy neighbor talking in weird noises to the animals, what shocked the woman more was that the creatures would respond back. Thus, Dor was also banished and sent to a far away rain-forest.

 _Fourth woman, her name was Alli_. She lived near the ocean with a competitive tribe and village, they would dive to get pearls, fish and other things they could eat. Alli was the one that always remained in the water the longest, the one that dived the deepest, and the one that got the best tokens from the generous ocean. The men of the tribe were furious, how could an orphan woman do all of this? it wasn't very far until the whole village marked a viscous plan to know her secret. They found out when she dived, Water would never touch her skin. she manipulated water, she was banished immediately, sent to a far-away rain-forest.

 _Last woman, her name was Oras_. She lived a little bit closer to the rain-forest. Her family owned a big farm, they harvested a variety of vegetables unlike other villagers. They had strawberries even when it was summer, had Tomatoes in the winter. The villagers often found themselves wondering about the secret of Oras family. was the soil different?. They didn't have to think that much about it when they saw flowers growing under her steps. She was kicked out of the village, challenging her to survive into the rain-forest.

After very long months of each individual lady trying to survive in the harsh, scary, cold rain-forest. They met each other by the small pond when they were all trying to take a dip there. 

"Who are you?!" Geda roared, Alli narrowed her eyes at the angry woman. "who are you? you're not a spy sent by these stupid villagers, are you?!". Geda face mixed with shock, "you were kicked out from your tribe?". Oras gestured for all of them to calm down, she suggested "How about we all take turns to introduce ourselves? Let's start with you, woman with red hair!". Geda shot her a glare but gave up, "my name is Geda, I was kicked out from my tribe. I can control fire, if any of you tries to mess with me. I won't hesitate to set her on fire". Alli chuckled with mockery, sitting on a rock near the pond were Geda was soaking in, "my name is Alli, I have the same situation as you. I can manipulate water, do you believe I can drown you right now?". Oras gulped a bit obvious than she would like to, "I'm Oras, I was also banished. I can manipulate earth" She sat on a rock across the one Alli was seated on. 

"I'm Dor, I can talk to animals", Dor introduced herself, feeling a little less anxious with the four women presence, "were you banished as well?" Uos finally talked, and it was to ask a question, Dor nodded under the hot looks from the four women. now the attention was swiped from Uos that simply said, "I'm Uos, I have the same problem as you all, I manipulate Air". Silence filled the tension between the women. Geda broke it by saying," you can join me" gesturing to the clear water of the pond, some flowers floated on it and it ignited a very pleasant smell, The rest of the women instantly stripped and soaked their bodies in the water. "what does this mean?",Oras asked. Dor said with a smile, " _it means we're sisters from now on_ ".

They did create a strong bond between them, naming it; U.A.G.D.O. To match their initials, They were closer than a family, They believed they were soulmates. 

* * *

After long years trying to learn the source, weakness, strengths, and more about their powers. They finally managed to discover alot. Geda suggested they find other people like them, she offered to be the one to recruit such people, She learned the art of apparation due to her long journeys to search for similar people. Uos, managed to solve the riddles and algorithms of the sky and navigation. 

Dor learned how to transfigure herself into any animal she wished for, her favourite was to become a giraffe. teaching her sisters how to become like her. Alli was very interested in making draughts and potions, She accidentally made a sleeping draught once, so she worked hard to make other potions. Oras, She loved learning about each purpose of herbs and plants, helping Alli make potions as well.

After Geda recruited about 30 other people like them, The sisters taught them everything they knew. The sisters encouraged them to discover new things as well in their new tribe they named uagdo. The sisters noticed that these new people divided into five sections, each after the care of one individual sister, Geda suggested the idea to open a school, the sisters agreed. so after exactly a decade, the sisters opened a school in a pyramid Uos enchanted to be bigger inside, it looked like an ancient unimportant ruin, So no one would stumble in it and ruin everything. 

The school expanded so much, the first batch to graduate got married and each got several children to send them to the school that had five houses, 

Geda house: it contained students that had natural leadership skills, people that knew how to manage each quirk of each person. people that know how to Control and use power well, They only follow their morals and usually have one loyalty to one thing. They are very kind, They often have good morals, They are the kind of people to go for to rescue you from something. These are the kind of people to hold a sword to your chest with a smile. The house symbol is Fire.

Alli house: it contained clever students, very cunning but very loyal. Their actions speak louder than words, They are very practical, They have questionable morals sometimes and they will do anything to pursue their morals. They are the the people you will go for to fight with you. natural warriors. They are the type of people to hold a sword next to you or the type to hold a sword to your back. you will know if you're important to them, they're blunt but only cunning if they had something or someone to protect. Their house symbol is water.

Oras house: it contained students who are very impulsive, They're feelers and soulful people, They treasure emotions and are very optimistic, They think with their hearts. They sympathies alot and to everything, they can and will sympathies with evil humans, they are very emotionally intelligent. They are very flexible and understanding. They are the type of people to hide with you. They don't have morals except finding somewhere were everyone is happy. Their house symbol is a thornful rose.

Uos house: it contained students who are very Creative, their minds are very colorful and imaginitive. They're very timid and introverted, They're very rescourseful. They don't have any loyalty, they're the grey area. They're very observant, They rarely speak but when they do everyone listens. They are the type of people to shoot an arrow from somewhere you can't see. Their actions are often very calculated. Their house symbol is a moon hidden by a thick cloud.

Dor house: it contained students who are very thoughtful, being kind is their moral, They're the ones to listen to everyone side, They never judge and won't ever do that. They're everyone's friend. Their sweet honeyed words are their weapon. They will never attack anyone, They are the ones to defend you rather than attack for you. They solve everyone problems, They will help you find a solution. They don't take sides. They are the type of people you want for emotional support. their house symbol is silhouettes of animals.

* * *

Uagadou school didn't have uniforms until Hogwarts opened, Hogwarts founders gave the idea of uniforms to the sisters descendants. The uniforms for each house was similar, Because at the end they were all magical. The only difference was females wore sleeveless dresses that reached their knees, due to the hot climate inside the school. for males they wore shorts that reached their knees with short sleeved buttoned shirts, all with the same patterned fabric. There would be a badge on the chest to indicate which house.

The sorting is more psychological and filled with actual work, students that are chosen get the same challenge that changes from each year to year. Depending to how they act on the challenge, They get sorted. The challenge takes place on the first day of school, and the audience are the former students and teachers.

each house representive will raise a flag with the house symbol to show if that student belonged to them. Only **one** flag is raised.

* * *

**This article will get updated every time I get an idea or reference pictures.**


	3. Chapter 1: The beginning

* * *

**The beginning:**

Zane honey-coloured eyes scanned the platform, the Hogwarts Express was polished with a bright red colour that made him re-question his decision. The previous week shocking night still carved its scars in his heart. However, Rosalie, the victim in this equation, was smiling as brightly as ever. No matter how hard he read into her smile he found nothing but saccharine. His eyes watched Rosalie walk with a slight skip in her steps, no matter how much she matured, she was still his lovely little baby girl. Her dark eyes darting from each direction to watch the people crowding at the Platform. "Papa, are you alright?", She asked with a soft voice matching her features. She really did look like her mother. 

"Yes, how are you feeling? you're the one who went through everything like a champion" Zane said with a cheerful smile, ruffling her curly locks. She frowned slightly, with a pout forming, she was going to lecture him. He really did know her behaviour very well, "Papa, please don't be hard on grandma. She had her reasons, I don't hate her whatsoever, After all I think everything happens fo-“

"for the best, Rose, if you're that nice people will use you" Zane, shooting her a parenting look. Obtaining an eyeroll and a sigh from her, "I may be nice but I'm not stupid". Zane chuckled and pushed her cart to the Train, Levitating her luggage to an empty cabin with an open window. Once he finished, he told the girl strictly " you will send me weekly letters, if you miss one, I will raid the school". When the train pistons hissed, Rosalie hugged her father tightly and said, " I will, Good-bye!". with that she dashed to the entrance of the train, mentally counting the cabins from the entrance. She slammed the cabin door open. A girl with blonde hair was sitting calmly but flinched when Rosalie slammed the door. She shot her a glare and cursed, "Bloody hell! can't you be more careful?!". Rosalie smiled apologetically and mumbled an apology to Elizabeth, The blonde.

Rosalie stalked closer to the window and waving at her father, blowing kisses to his smiling face. When the train took a swerve and her father familiar face disappeared. Rosalie smile fell, It finally dawned on her that she’s in a new place with no one to rely on. She sat slowly at the cushioned bench, lifting her head to look back at Elizabeth that was observing her, examining everything in her. She looked like she was waiting for any signal from Rosalie to start a conversation. When the blonde didn’t get any, only catching the brunette eyes, She said,” I have never seen you before,”. Rosalie explained shortly, “I’m new”. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and said with an obvious tone, “Of course, where did you transfer from? Your accent is strange as well, did you come from beauxbatons?”. Rosalie replied, “I came from Uagado”. Elizabeth nodded comprehensively, Sensing the awkward hot tension, Rosalie quickly asked,” which year are you in? I’m going to be in fifth year”

Elizabeth face mixed with pride and slight appreciation, “Very well, I’m in fifth year as well. I will show you around so you don’t become a complete noob,” Elizabeth received a smile from Rosalie and a breathless thank you. The cabin door slid open; both the girls looked at the new face. Minerva McGonagall, appeared with her red hair styled to the back of her head in a practical bun, She shot the two girls disapproving girls at their tameless hair, Her eyes finally landing on Rosalie. She inquired, “Are you miss Abella?”. Rosalie quickly nodded, “I’m Minerva McGonagall, I’ve been noticed about your arrival,” She said. Her eyes peering onto Rosalie skull as if trying to concentrate on her words, “When the train stops, you will come with me to Professor Dumbledore, You will get sorted into your Hogwarts house before the first years, Am I clear?”

Rosalie replied with certainty, “Yes, Minerva”. Minerva shot the brunette a nasty glare, earning a snort from Elizabeth, She hid her laugh under her palm, Her face switching scarlet due to her suffocated laugh. Minerva said strictly to Rosalie, “you shan’t call me with my first name, We’re not the same age!”, She fled from the cabin, leaving Elizabeth howling for year after her fit of laughter at Minerva face expressions. Rosalie asked with worry, “is it impolite to call someone with their given name?”

Elizabeth decided she will just enjoy her days until Rosalie learns the truth the hard way, It was way too funny to look at people terrorised faces, she gestured as a no and said in between gasps for air, “No, No! McGon- Minerva is just uptight, she thinks she’s the same level as professors just because she’s a head-girl”. Silence filled them again, It was cut by Rosalie that said with a sincere grin, “I hope we’re in the same house,”

Elizabeth hid her smile with a stern look, She never really had people to call friends, or at least people to strike her interest long enough to call them friends. However, Rosalie did feel very honest, Elizabeth hoped they do become friends. She had a good feeling about it. “Me too”.

* * *

Rosalie didn’t know if Minerva usual behaviour was like this or she was still angry at the earlier incident; She was navigating Rosalie through the enormous, fantastic halls of Hogwarts. Minerva was a tall girl and her legs strode very widely, She walked very fast even with high oxford boots that clapped on the pavement. Rosalie on the other hand with her petite figure, She basically had to run to catch up with the taller girl. Minerva took a sudden halt at a fancy wooden door with a golden hand instead of a knob. She knocked on it three times, the door magically opened as a man with an auburn beard laced with grey, the same thing happened for his hair. He wore a fancy tuxedo with round edges, soft fabric and soft dull colours, Dumbledore.

He greeted with a smile, nodding at Minerva; showing she was free to leave. Thus, Minerva left leaving Rosalie with Dumbledore, He pointed at a Different direction from where Minerva took, “shall we?”. He offered, Rosalie walked next to him with a peaceful stride. “Miss Abella, your father had told me so much about you”, Rosalie shot him an absent-minded smile, she hummed in certainty, of course he did. Zane has always been a proud father that didn’t mind his daughter painting his nails with bright colours, He never minded her playing with his hair, braiding it and sticking flowers into his hair, He never felt any humiliation by fighting Gellert Grindleward warriors with painted nails and braided hair.

Rosalie cheeks fired up in humiliation when she realised she’s been way onto her thoughts she didn’t hear any word Dumbledore said, “So, if you earn any points your house will get them- am I clear?”. Rosalie hummed and nodded, “I heard you’re an animagi from your father, what is it?”. Rosalie looked at the floor with more humiliation, Her whole family animagi were lions, Her grandmother was a lion with a mane, which was strange since lions with manes were male. It had to do something with her ego, Zane always said.

Zane animagi was a giant lion with the loveliest and the bushiest mane ever. But, Rosalie wasn’t a lion, She replied to Dumbledore question with timidness, “a black panther”.

“That’s very impressive, it’s rather different from your family, To be honest, I always thought panthers were better than lions. They are rather showy, aren’t they?” Dumbledore said with a smile, Rosalie chuckled breathlessly and agreed. She still remembers the time in third year when they learned about self transfiguration, She cried for days when she turned up as a panther. Her cousin, Cana; She laughed about it for years, and she still laughs about it when she sees Rosalie, passing her a rude comment like:” it must be the muggle blood in you!” “Ha! Grandma would be very disappointed, more than she already is!”

Rosalie always replied to those comments by sticking out her tongue and stroking the golden tiara laced with diamonds on her head. This alone, would send Cana into madness and a state of more jealousy. Fida favoured Rosalie, giving her the name of an heir after Zane refused to become the heir.

Dumbledore arrived to a large double-door that reached the ceiling, it was carved with fancy royal patterns. The door opened magically, revealing the magical great hall. All the students were wearing the same uniform, they had different ties which Rosalie assumed it indicated their houses, her eyes looked at the enchanted ceiling with amusement. This was very impressive and Rosalie just wanted to spend the rest of her time in Hogwarts looking at it. But when Rosalie heard hisses and frantic fabric noises coming from her right, She looked at Elizabeth that smiled very wide and waved at her, hissing a chanting, “Gryffindor! Gryffindor!”. Rosalie chuckled and kept her nervous smile on her face, She was going to have a good impression on everyone, She was planning to befriend everyone. Cana wasn’t here to ruin anything, She will spend the rest of her years making friends.

When Rosalie and Dumbledore reached a stool next to the sorting hat, Rosalie couldn’t help but think, ‘oh lord, what an ugly hat!’.

“sit on the stool, Abella”, Dumbledore instructed as he grasped the sorting hat. Rosalie reluctantly sat on it, She definitely didn’t want the moldy looking hat to touch her hair. She wondered why didn’t Hogwarts just have a challenge and ask her to do it, it would be much preferable than this hat resting on her head. When the hot sorting hat touched her head, she could feel its hot air attacking her head. Rosalie visibly shivered and mumbled, “EW!”. The great hall erupted with laughter, the loudest was from Elizabeth, that seemed to be crying into the sleeves of her robes.

“I beg your pardon! Did you just say ‘Ew’?! How dare you?!” The sorting hat boomed, earning a second wave of laughter. Rosalie apologised, her eyes darting around the great hall with anxiety, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it was just too surprising”.

“with you apologising twice, and friendly personality, you’re a- HUFFLEPUFF!” The sorting hat roared, receiving a flinch from Rosalie. A series of applause overcome Rosalie upset feelings about not being in the same house as Elizabeth, She sat down on the table with many different faces shooting her smiles and congratulations.

Soon, The doors were open again and first years came inside. Rosalie scanned the same procedure, until a gentle tug came from her right, a girl with dark brown hair and a bulbous nose said with a cheerful smile, “Hi! I’m Ariadne Meadows, I’m the Hufflepuff prefect and I was assigned to help you around- I hope we can be good friends”, Rosalie grinned at the warm greeting, “I hope so too!”

When the ceremony for first years ended, with everyone seated at the table of their new houses, Food magically appeared on the golden utensils. Ariadne was kindly piling food on Rosalie dish, as she was telling her about the HufflePuff house rules, “You might want to be careful about leaving your things in the common room, we have a strict finders keepers rule-“ Ariadne stopped talking to take a spoonful of the mushroom soup, it reminded the dazed Rosalie with the continuous rules that it was dinner time and she hadn’t eaten anything since the chocolate frogs and cauldron cakes at the train, to which she and Elizabeth got into a heated argument about who takes the last piece, Rosalie took a bite from the Shepherds pie.

She sighed in delight when the taste of her mouth changed, Ariadne continued to drill rules into Rosalie that just seemed to agree absent-mindedly, “you have to perfect the HufflePuff knock or you will get drenched in vinegar, it goes like this” and she began knocking on the mahogany table, earning proud smiles from the elder HufflePuffs.

After a very filling dinner, Rosalie & Ariadne still found another place for Pudding. With small chit-chats tugged between the two brunettes, Dinner was finally over, Rosalie felt a shadow loom on her from the back, She quickly turned to find Elizabeth, having a sullen look. She smiled a small smile and cheered, “Congratulations on getting to HufflePuff,” Rosalie noticed Ariadne give Elizabeth a glare. Rosalie smiled and said sorrowfully, “ I wanted to be in the same house as you, But it’s alright; we can still be friends in different houses” Elizabeth agreed, waving slightly at Rosalie and followed the mass of the students to go to their dorms.

“You know Elizabeth Potter?”, Ariadne asked in disbelief, Rosalie affirmed her statement. Ariadne sighed and shook her head, “just don’t get too close to her, She’s a bully! You might get mistaken for a bully”, Rosalie ignored Ariadne words, standing up and re-directing the topic, “where do we go now?”

Ariadne face immediately switched to enthusiasm, “We go to our rooms, You’re in the same room as me, Sally, Emily and Seira”

* * *

Rosalie always considered herself to be very bad at potions. The next morning after instantly Knocking out into a deep slumber, with very brief introduction from her roommates.

When she walked down the dungeon with Ariadne navigating her towards the classroom, it was very refreshing to have a nice morning chat with someone that was a morning person. Unlike, Cana that would always grunt painfully whenever Rosalie said anything in the morning. However, Ariadne didn’t look very pleased about having potions first thing in the morning, “We have potions with the Slytherin house, They’re very unpleasant classmates- “ She cut herself as she let Rosalie pass through the suffocating classroom first, “I don’t think you should be judging them like that,” Rosalie said gently, walking to an empty work bench, The class was mainly deserted, except for two boys. The two of them had neat hair, tamed stylishly to suit their faces. The one with the darker hair looked very handsome, Rosalie had to take a double-look at him. The blond, next to him was very dashing as well. Maybe he would look a lot better if he hadn’t drenched his hair with grease to slick it to the back.

“That’s Riddle and Malfoy, Riddle is very charming and he is such a teacher’s pet, he is also a prefect. The blond is Abraxas, He is very-“ Ariadne let an angry huff and completed her gossip, “To put it shortly, he’s a git, He is the main reason I hate Slytherin” Rosalie looked at the girl sitting by herself in a far-away bench, Ariadne noticed her look and briefly said,” That’s Eileen Prince, She doesn’t talk much and she doesn’t have friends either. When I look at her face I just imagine myself fixing her thick eyebrows”

“Miss Meadows, We’re in an empty room. We can hear everything you’re saying” Abraxas said, Ariadne blushed with humialtion, not noticing that she set her books next to Eileen, The latter girl glared at them and returned to reading her book. Rosalie found herself imagining the same thing as Ariadne. Eileen un-tamed Eyebrows really sucked all the beauty & life from her face, it gave her a very sharp, sullen look.

“Aha, the new girl” Abraxas said, he was still seated in the very far of the room. And he really didn’t have to speak very loudly for her to hear him. The room was very echoey, “um, yeah…?” Rosalie affirmed with vagueness. Eileen raised her face from the book, and stared at Rosalie. Riddle was doing the same thing, Was it the case that a very handsome boy looking at her, or the sheer attention from the few people in the room. It made her cheeks fire and her body temperature raise, She finally realised the Dungeons were very stuffy and humid. “What’s your blood-line? Pure-blood, I suppose? Your family is famous for their pure blood-line” Abraxas asked, his voice was filled with pride and a very disgusting narcissism. He reminded her of Cana for some reason.

“A half-blood actually” Rosalie shortly replied. His face mixed with disgust, then came to mockery as he said in disbelief, “Aha! You’re the daughter of that rebel! The idiot that refused to become an heir!”. Ariadne glared at him, Rosalie, gave him a closed smile. She said, “askaousi,”. His mouth morphed together and leaving him mouthless, he kept letting out whimpers. “maybe now you will think before you talk” Rosalie said. Ariadne was giggling at Abraxas wide eyes and whimpers as he kept touching his mouthless face.

Tom, pointed his wand at Abraxas, with a slight mutter. Abraxas was heard again, “How dare you?!” He boomed, reminding her of the sorting hat the previous night, Rosalie didn’t feel any guilt, She stood up and glared at him, saying slowly with a low dangerous voice, “if you talk about my father again, I will make sure to stitch your mouth and it will be forever”

Abraxas, shut his mouth. Tom gestured for him to sit down, “I agree with miss Abella, you shouldn’t talk about someone like that”. Abraxas looked very defeated with Riddle siding with Rosalie, even the brunette couldn’t believe it. But Ariadne excitedly nudged her legs under the table with suggestive eyes. Rosalie ignored her, Tom smiled a very charming smile and asked, “were you hiding your wand under the table?”. Rosalie frowned, Did he really think she would step down to attacking someone with a hidden wand? She refused, “No, I would never do something so cowardice”

“wandless magic? Rosalie that’s very brilliant!” Ariadne gushed, shaking Rosalie arm with joy. Tom was giving her a very strange look with a stranger forced smile. Rosalie lived long enough with her aunt to know what a forced smile is like and she can never miss it no matter how sincere it looked like. Even Eileen looked a little bit surprised at the new information. Rosalie sat down on her seat once the students started spilling inside the class.

Soon, professor Slughorn appeared and walked inside with a very cheerful greeting, receiving different kinds of responses from the students. The Slytherins looked smug & proud. The HufflePuffs looked very irritated, especially with the rude comments coming from some Slytherins. Slughorn looked at Rosalie and said proudly, “The very lovely miss Abella, I’m very good friends with your father!”. Rosalie beamed at him politely, refusing to show any mark that exposed her true thoughts. Her father never told her about this man, He told her very shortly about Dumbledore and how he helped him squeeze her into this year class.

However, Rosalie still never forgot the fact that she was terrible at Potions, Ariadne wasn’t very bright at it either. With that other fact, Rosalie felt a lot safer to be in a group crisis with Ariadne and Sierra that joined them. The three girls spent the rest of the period sharing jokes and stories, Rosalie felt very comfortable with the two girls. They had a natural friendly and welcoming Aura that she didn’t feel like she was invading them at all.

Slughorn passed by them couple times and he could obviously see their failed attempts to make the Potion that they didn’t even bother remembering its name, So they were in a very tough spot when Professor Slughorn asked, “Do you have any idea what everyone is making right now?”, The three girls exchanged troubled looks,

“We’re making amortentia, Sir”, Eileen finally revealed her voice, and it was to humiliate the three girls as she shot them a disgusted look. Sierra and Ariadne glowered at her, “very well, Miss Prince! Two points for Slytherin-“ Slughorn said while looking at the girl with proud eyes, Eileen looked smug about it as she flipped her hair behind her shoulder.

Slughorn looked back at Rosalie with a disapproving look, “you have so much Potential, Miss Abella. How about you get a tutor?”. Rosalie sighed and traced her eyes at the bench, “I would ask Riddle but he’s already busy with his prefect duties. So, how about you teach her Miss Prince?”. Eileen looked very bitter, but she agreed lowly, “Yes professor”

Slughorn beamed again, “brilliant, Miss Prince!”. Then he scooted away, Sierra asked with disbelief, “Rude! Why doesn’t he care about us not getting tutelage as well?”. Ariadne shook her head, stirring the green potion infront of them, “You know how he is, he only cares about kids he thinks will be successful later. Just look at how he treats Riddle”, Sierra frowned but soon said playfully, “Since we’re making amortentia, that means the potion smells like the person you love- I bet yours smells like Malfoy,” Sierra directed her speech to Ariadne that gasped in shock, dropping the wooden ladle inside the green potion, “ I do not! You know how much I hate his guts!”

“yeah, sure, with you muttering ‘Abraxas’ in your sleep” Sierra said, twirling her mousy hair locks around her index, “isn’t that right, Rosalie?”, She added with a playful smirk to Rosalie. “Yeah, you said his name about ten times last night” She said with a chuckle at Ariadne shocked face.

“Probably that’s because I have been murdering him in my sleep”, Ariadne said. Earning a wave of laughter from Rosalie and Sierra. Rosalie leaned to take a whiff out of Eileen potion, The latter scooted away un-comfortably. And watching Rosalie face.

“What do you smell?” Sierra asked curiously, Rosalie was hit with a nostalgic feeling as all the memories came flooding her mind, the time when Fida crowned Rosalie as her heir, The time Rosalie and Fida danced together to tribal music to a dance Fida called, the lion dance. The jasmine flowers laced with Rosebuds growing uder their barefooted feet as they devoted a dance. The time when it would rain very heavily and Rosalie would sleep with Fida, She always felt safe with Fida. But now, Where did it all go wrong? To have her lovely grandmother that she trusted with her life, to her grandmother that she loved wholly. To that cursed night when Rosalie slept with her grandmother under the thick rain of autumn, excited she will wake up the next morning inside the warm embrace of Fida, Her eyes shot open that same night with a tight hold around her neck, She found Fida having the most ruthless look ever, yelling “DIE! WHY WERE YOU BORN?!”. The sudden switch of her sweet grandmother was terrifying; as if she took some kind of drug. The look on Fida face was of pure hatred and loath.

That same night when Zane rescued her from her from his own mother, She remembers Zane loud yells and curses at Fida, taking the tiara from Rosalie head and throwing it on the ground with so much force that it shattered to million pieces, Rosalie felt a familiar headache in her head. Her vision becoming blurry, Her hands coming to un-button the collar of her shirt that was fully buttoned. Afraid that her scar will show, the wound was very deep to the point it showed on her bronzed skin. The wound was very deep it also reached her heart. Just like a thorned Rose, it twisted around her heart and digged deeper and deeper until she bled. She ripped her delicate golden necklace off of her neck, The pendant of the lone rose fell to the floor, making a loud noise that Rosalie didn’t even hear under the effects of her panic attack.

“Rosalie, are you crying?!” with Ariadne un-intentional loud voice, it obtained the scene un-wanted attention. Rosalie knew what this headache was, With her head and body spinning like a tornado, Just like the tornado of her heart. Someone was using legilemence on her! Of course She knew it! How could she not when her own Aunt would use it on her on daily basis. Rosalie eyes darted at everyone around the room, feeling where the buzzing was getting stronger. Her eyes landed on no one other than Tom Riddle, That had a an abnormal look on his face, He just witnessed the night she was almost killed.

* * *

I got a lil excited and decided to post the chapter today instead of th 11th lol, I hope you guys liked it, second chapter will be up very soon.


	4. Chapter 2: Black mist.

Chapter 2: Black mist.

* * *

Rosalie breath hitched in her throat, she inhaled sharply as her eyes darted to look at the floor with despair. No one was supposed to know what happened! She screamed into her mind, feeling dizzy as the very slow moments happened, everything seemed very slow before her eyes. Merciless Tom was still going through her mind as if it was a magazine. She contemplated to hex him, she had to clear her mind first to use wandless magic. However, a voice in her head spoke, “Don’t do it!”, it was just like her inner voice. But it wasn’t her own thought. It was like another third voice invaded her mind.

Rosalie looked around for any other legilimence besides Tom buzzing eyes. She frowned, wondering deeply if she looked that easy and weak for people to test her. Rosalie decided she will listen to the new bolstering voice and not attack Tom; She didn’t have a chance anyways, Professor Slughorn dashed to her. He seized her left upper arm and directed her out of the dungeons, Rosalie glowered at Tom lastly before the classroom door slammed shut. Slughorn gave her a sympathising look, “scents are a rather strong trigger for memories”. Rosalie didn’t find the energy to give him any sort of respond. As if she was blacked out, she suddenly found herself at the hospital wing of Hogwarts. Madam Pomfrey holding the skirt of her red uniform as she ran around to find a cure, Slughorn finally stopped talking. Rosalie foolishly realised she hadn’t heard a thing or rather her mind ignored all of the stimulus. Still trying to get over the fact she re-lived that vexatious night.

Rosalie paid attention to his next words, “I should tell your father about what happened, he will want to hear ab-“.“no please don’t! I’m begging you!” Rosalie cut Slughorn, the older man looked startled as he slowly agreed to her sudden outburst, Madam Pomfrey fast steps were heard as she lead the darker skinned girl to sit on the bed, handing her a sleeping draught and chocolate, Rosalie refused; only taking the chocolates, “ma’am I’m not going to take this potion”. The nurse hand was still stretched, holding the phial close to Rosalie mouth, “you will take it, drink it before I make you drink it!” The nurse hissed. Rosalie stood up munching on the chocolate chunk, “professor, I’m coming with you” Rosalie said, the nurse glared at the professor; he left instantly. Rosalie attempted to follow him but madam Pomfrey was extremely robust for her figure, she held Rosalie from her collar then forcing the liquid down her throat. Before Rosalie could protest, she fell asleep.

Tom was very confused about what he saw in Rosalie mind, who was this girl, why was she crowned and why was she strangled in her sleep? Tom knew he wouldn’t be able to forget the sensations sucking all the oxygen of his body by a firm grip on his throat, it was terrifying. He needed to know more about this strange girl. Abraxas was talking about something irrelevant; Tom cut him, “What do you know about Abella?”. Abraxas was slightly stunned, yet he automatically poured all his information, “They are a severely new family to nobility. Fida, the grandmother of miss Abella was the one to gain it”. Tom felt Abraxas slight pride about him knowing something that Tom doesn’t, he shot him a dark look. Abraxas completed with slight stutter, “Seraphina Picquery, the previous minister of America decided to invade Africa, she didn’t like that young wizards and witches were able to master self-transfiguration-

“the previous minister of magic escaped; he was terrified of Seraphina, African wizards didn’t want an American to rule them and change their rules, she’s got a very bad reputation” Abraxas said, Tom demanded, “Get to the point”. The blond completed, “no one was brave or strong enough to face Seraphina; except Fida who was 17 or 16 at the time, she told everyone she would protect them. No one believed her, when she did compete with Seraphina. Fida won and was crowned as a queen for the magic world in Africa” Tom absorbed all of the information given to him. He wondered if that meant Rosalie was the princess or heir, before Tom can ask for further information. Slughorn entered the dungeons and completed his lesson, giving them loads of homework.

Tom watched the two companions of Rosalie walk out with her satchel. Both of them were grumbling about the safety and health of Rosalie, Tom was certain now Hufflepuffs were a waste of space and air. When the class emptied, Tom walked to Slughorn as he gestured for Abraxas to leave.

“Sir, I was wondering…” Tom began his words, Slughorn smiled. Tom was the favourite student and he knew that, so he used the older man very easily. “Would you like another slip to the restricted section? I really wouldn’t mind” Slughorn said, already taking his quill. Tom refused, “I’m afraid not, sir, not now at least”. The older professor chuckled a throaty laugh as he set down the quill. “I wanted to ask you if miss Abella was the heir to the queen of Africa?”. Slughorn eyes widened, his body froze slightly. He smirked before tilting his body closer to the desk in interest, “How did you know? It is a very secretive matter, Fida really made sure no one knew. She’s afraid Grindelwald would find out about this and eliminate Rosalie”

Tom shrugged his shoulders, “intuition”. Slughorn grinned. Then he suddenly let a noise as if he just remembered something, “Could you give this to miss Abella? And also tell her that I invite her to the slug club, I wanted to tell miss Meadows, but she left quickly”. Slughorn handed Tom a glistening Rose pendant, it was very nice-looking with red tinted petals. “poor girl had a fit and ripped her necklace”.

* * *

Rosalie found herself in a dark and a thick forest, the vegetation was covering every inch of her view. Even the ground was covered with thick moss; it looked deserted and lonesome. The girl hugged her bare arms for warmth, then decided to do the only right thing. To walk forward, she had no idea where she was or what she was doing here. The only right answer felt like going forward nonstop. When Rosalie heard fast steps mimicking her own, she turned to find a cloaked figure lurking in the dark. Rosalie fisted her skirt then sprinted forward and away. She didn’t know where she was or who that person was, the only right answer felt like escaping.

Rosalie breathed in relief when the quick steps behind her stopped. But that same figure re-appeared in front of her, Rosalie stopped running just right before she can collide to the strange body. She pivoted on her heel, deciding she will run backwards, it felt right. Strong, firm and cold hands clammed on her upper arm. She screeched as that figure turned her to face them, she came face to face with someone that looked very familiar, that woman spoke with a mutual familiar voice, “You will make Tom Riddle belong!”. Rosalie was mystified, her eyes tracing that woman face. She had a light discoloured scar on the apple of her cheek that stretched to her forehead, her dark eyes looked very familiar, the mixed emotions swirling in it were a certain reply for her. But Rosalie refused to believe herself, she asked sternly, “Who are you?!”

The woman said firmly, “you know who I am, you’re just afraid to admit that” the woman left hand raised to stroke the wrinkles around her eyes, then pushed the hood of her cloak to reveal a lighter shade of brown with lots of patches of grey. “You will age” the woman said, her face turning prideful, “you’re me, I’m you”. Rosalie was frozen with shock. The woman said hurriedly, “You will get closer to Tom! If you don’t you will regret it deeply” Rosalie frowned, “but why? He’s a terrible person!”. The woman eyes sank, then her face switched to determination, “listen to my words, if you don’t millions of people will die”

Rosalie remained silent as the woman elaborated, “I’m from the future, this is not a dream. This is a way I used to contact my younger, naïve self”. The woman eyes looked at Rosalie up and down with obvious repugnance. Rosalie protested “I’m not naïve!”. The woman chuckled warningly, her hand coming to cover her head again, “Yes, you are. With our naïve self, we lost all of our loved ones”. Rosalie looked very baffled as the woman looked at the nearby tree, she said, “I’m here to make things right now, you will gain Tom trust then you will destroy him. You hear me? Destroy him no matter how hard it will be”. Rosalie was very frightened, the woman with the mutual older face said sternly, “You will destroy him, or I will make sure I destroy you”.

Rosalie smirked and said, “Destroy me? Won’t that destroy you as well?”. The woman hands raised to rest on Rosalie neck, sending threatening shivers towards her spine and accelerating heart. The woman smiled sinisterly, then said, “So? It’s taking me so much energy not to kill you right now, if I could, I would end your worthless life right here and now”. Rosalie gulped, her hands running to comfort her scared heart. The woman hands fell to rest at her sides, “You will obey me, or I will end your life”

“I really have no choice, do I?” Rosalie said as she watched the woman vanish into thin air. Rosalie felt a splash of cold water on her body as she sank into the depth of dark water, she kept flailing her limps around. Her body was jerked forward, she was pulled back to consciousness. Her eyes traced the room around her, sighing in relief when she found neat white beds and white fabric barriers, she was at the hospital wing. Rosalie pushed the covers from her body as she walked up to the door, the dream was still lingering so vividly in her mind to the point it felt like reality and her current place felt like a surreal dream. She had to pinch her arm few times to make sure it was all real. Madam Pomfrey walked out of her office, “You’re already awake?! But I gave you a powerful sleeping potion!”

Rosalie asked, her hand fixing her hair, “what time is it?”. Madam Pomfrey said as she glanced at the clock on the cobbled wall, “it’s a little past ten”, luckily, Rosalie memorised her schedule, she had Transfiguration. “your father told me to send him a letter if you ever get hurt, I decided I won’t. I heard you telling Slughorn you didn’t want that. You don’t want him to get worried?” Rosalie nodded, feeling very thankful to the nurse.

Rosalie bid the woman farewell, her legs taking her to Transfiguration. She had no idea where that was, but she asked several portraits for help and they were helpful. When Rosalie finally reached the classroom, she pushed the gates that let a light squeak. With the silent class, it was heard, and they all turned to look at her as if she was an outsider. Rosalie noted the red ties and red badges on the robes, she had a class with the Gryffindors. “Miss Abella, please take a seat”. Dumbledore said, Rosalie traced the room to find any empty seat. She saw Sierra and Ariadne sitting together as they gave her compassionate looks. Luckily, Rosalie found an empty seat next to Elizabeth. She bolted to sit next to her, the blonde smiled at her then handed her satchel.

Rosalie took it, whispering words of gratitude. When Dumbledore told them to practice their spells, Elizabeth instantly asked, “why were you late?”. Rosalie told her what happened, excluding the fact of Tom using legilimency and her re-living the night she was choked. Elizabeth said, “You’re alright now?” Rosalie affirmed with a shrug and a slight tilt of her head. They both began swishing their wands, Ariadne leaned closer to Rosalie from the double table on her right, “How are you feeling?”, Rosalie said shortly, “Good”. Ariadne bit her lower lip as she backed to sit properly at her seat, she and Sierra whispering. Elizabeth said; in hopes of starting a conversation, “We had zoology with the Ravenclaws, I wanted to punch Hornby at least three times”. Rosalie chuckled and asked, “why?”. Elizabeth shook her head and said with an obvious tone, “he’s such a git! you will see him soon and you will get me”.

“What are you talking about? Hornby is alright” Ariadne defended, Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at her and said, “no one asked for your opinion”. Ariadne face flushed with anger, but she remained silent and faced Dumbledore who was writing few things on the board. Rosalie nudged Elizabeth with her elbow and hissed, “that was rude!”. The blonde shrugged her shoulders carelessly, turning to look at Dumbledore at once.

The class with the Gryffindors was very entertaining, some of the Gryffindors loved the attention very much so they resulted to doing stupid things; these stupid things lead the class to laugh. Elizabeth laughed the hardest when one of the Gryffindors hurt themselves, it made Rosalie reconsider Ariadne words about Elizabeth being a bully. Elizabeth was definitely extremely sharp, wasn’t one to sugar-coat her words and her humour was rather very dark. But she still hasn’t tormented anyone, at least not Infront of Rosalie, she only defended herself by being very blunt.

When the class finished with the last wave of laughter, Ariadne shot up to Rosalie as she basically dragged her away from Elizabeth to their next class, “See you later!” Rosalie waved at the blonde. When they were at a safe distance from the blonde, Ariadne lectured, “How could you sit with her?! You know she’s a bully!”, Sierra affirmed with a stern nod and a cross of her arms above her flat chest.

Rosalie protested, “She’s okay! I haven’t seen her bully anyone yet!”. Ariadne let a scoff, “do you not trust me? I told you she’s a bully!”. Rosalie sighed, taking a defensive stance, “It’s not that, it’s that I need an evidence! Have you seen her torment anyone?”. Sierra joined by saying, “her personality is the evidence”. Ariadne added with pride, “and I heard Olive Hornby say they have a fight gang”. Rosalie gasped and said, “you’re telling me you are acting like this because you heard from someone? You believe rumours?!” Sierra and Ariadne quieted, Rosalie added, “You’re telling me you’d believe someone else words about me?”

“that’s different, I know you!” Ariadne said, Sierra growing uncomfortable; fiddling with the sleeves of her robes. “no, you don’t, we only met last night”. Ariadne mouth hung open as Rosalie walked past them with anger. Rosalie immediately regretted leaving them, she had no idea how to arrive to the green house. So, she decided for now she will just get to the exterior of the castle and hope for the best. The castle was very large and fascinating, Rosalie didn’t mind getting lost in it at all.

As if on que, when Rosalie reached the first floor, passing by the girl’s bathroom, she heard loud sobs coming from it. Rosalie took a halt, she eyed the entrance suspiciously, her legs took her to the bathroom, finding a girl with circular glasses and two pigtails, her face somehow represented an owl with her large eyes and sullen face, “Hey, are you alright?”. The girl with the pigtails snapped around, her cheeks having the word: mudblood with pimples, she wailed and screamed, “What do you think?!”. Her Ravenclaw tie was untied, her robe fell onto the left wooden bench. Rosalie finally noticed her hair slightly dishevelled, she asked hopefully, “would you like me to help you remove that?” she then pointed at her own cheeks. Myrtle wiped her eyes and inquired softly, “you can?”.

Rosalie smiled and neared her, “I can teach you the spell, it’s really simple, just tap your wand at it and say Aufero”. Rosalie drew out her pastel pink wand with handle that had a rosette with the core of diamond, Myrtle gasped, “your wand is very pretty!”. Rosalie smiled, did the spell, the pimples on Myrtle cheeks morphed into her skin then completely vanished, Myrtle watched her reflection, touching her face with slight surprise, “thank you!”.

“who did this to you? They should be severely punished” Rosalie said, Myrtle looked at the floor and said, “it’s Olive Hornby, she doesn’t get into trouble because her brother is a prefect”. The dark skinned girl frowned deeply, crossing her arms as she tucked back her wand, “That’s a very bad use of authority”, Myrtle shrugged her shoulders, Rosalie handed Myrtle her robes then said, “just make sure you get back to class, alright?”. Myrtle nodded obediently, Rosalie then asked sheepishly, “Do you know how to get to the Green house?”, Myrtle showed her the way, Rosalie bolted out of the bathroom, the school corridors being completely deserted, she was late to class. Rosalie held onto her satchel tightly as she fisted her robes with her right hand and dashed through the corridors of Hogwarts. Her first day there definitely wasn’t the best.

Herbology with the Ravenclaws was certainly very interesting, they were mainly very different from each other. Some were very interested in Herbology while the rest slept through the lecture. Elizabeth words were true, Leo Hornby was definitely a snob. And a know it all, his hand only raised at the difficult questions and he would scoff each time someone gave a wrong answer. He was very unpleasant, but he was harmless.

When the third class finished, many students dashed to have lunch. Rosalie was left behind to clean the green house as a penalty for being late to class. She didn’t complain, it was a much better punishment than what happened at Uagado; where they used to make the students run around the school for 3 times at least. The school was even larger than Hogwarts.

“Hey,” Ariadne said, standing awkwardly next to Rosalie, fiddling with the hem of her short skirt. “Hi,” Rosalie said shortly, passing by the loud brunette to grasp the wooden broom. “I’m very sorry about earlier, I truly regret it”. Rosalie gave her a gentle smile, “I accept your apology”. Ariadne face lit up, snatching the broom from Rosalie hand, “Sierra went to call Elizabeth so we can all help you”.

Rosalie gasped, “No! it’s fine! You don’t have to, I will clea-“

“Rosalie, shut up and let us help you. Besides, it well be a good chance for me to know Elizabeth more” Ariadne said firmly, reminding Rosalie why she was chosen as a Prefect. The green house door screeched; the two girls turned to look at Elizabeth. “Ha, it’s only your first day and you got punished already” Elizabeth said with mockery, Ariadne wanted to roll her eyes but refrained from doing so. Rosalie chuckled, tossed a broom to her, “Shut it and start cleaning”. Elizabeth groaned but she took the broom submissively, Rosalie hand shot up to stroke the rose pendant, but she only felt her bare skin. Her heart dropped with anxiety, she gasped dramatically, dropping the broom to the ground. The two girls watched her with concern. Rosalie asked breathlessly, “have you seen my necklace?”

The two girls shook their heads, Ariadne suggested, “maybe you forgot it in the bathroom?” Rosalie furiously shook her head, “I never take it off” her heart sank further and accelerated as she rethought about her day, She woke up then she got ready, She tucked it inside her shirt, as she buttoned it all up; to hide her wound. Then she had potions, where she had a panic attack. She gasped, “I think I left it at the dungeons”. She said, zooming out of the green house as she yelled, “I will be back!”. She bolted inside the castle, pushing students carefully out of her way. Then descended down the left stairs, “No running!” Leo Hornby yelled from behind her, she ignored him. She can’t lose her necklace; it was her mom’s. it was basically an heirloom to her. Rosalie never heard a louder stomp of her heeled feet running down the small hill of the way leading to the dungeons. She dropped her body on the potion classroom gate, slamming it open to the fullest. Luckily, it was empty. She dashed to her earlier place. Dropped down to the floor once she reached it. Her eyes darted around looking for a tiny pendant with a tiny golden rose with red tinted petals. Her heart raced when she found no trace of it except the small broken golden chains. Her eyes watered when she couldn’t find it. Someone must’ve taken it, she wished deeply the person who took it was willing to give it back to her.

The class door squeaked again, Rosalie shot her head up and hoped it was Professor Slughorn. To ask him if he knew the whereabouts of her Rosette pendant. She was disappointed when it wasn’t who she wanted it to be. Tom Riddle appeared at the doorway of the dungeons. Rosalie narrowed her eyes at him, her tears were absorbed back to her pupils as she deliberately stood up. He walked inside the class; his dark eyes never left her own. She guessed she may have dropped the rose charm somewhere else, but her eyes caught onto something sparkling with yellow rays laced between his fingers.

When Tom noticed her wide eyes, he lifted his hand to show the familiar golden necklace with the rose charm. Rosalie approached him, her eyes filled with relief, “thanks, that’s mine” She said as she stretched her palm to take it. However, Tom raised it above her head, Rosalie glared at him, “give it back!”. Tom shook his head, “not until you answer me first”. Rosalie arms rest to her side again, she gave him an inquiring question. She was impressed at how he had the audacity to read her mind and refuse to give her back the necklace. “where did you learn how to use wandless magic?”. Rosalie scoffed, reaching for the necklace that he raised higher from her. She tip toed, her hands still stretched to catch the charm that was dangling temptingly to her. She gave up and said, “Fine! Grandma taught me!”. Tom dropped the necklace to her palm.

She tucked it safely into her hand, before he can leave. She took out her wand closing the door, locking it as she said, “You really think I would let you go after you used legilimency on me?”, Tom instantly took out his wand; attempting to unlock the door with his wand. Rosalie snatched his wand quicker. She wasn’t going to let him go, especially after all of that. Tom turned to face her, a frown on his face, “give me my wand back”, the girl smirked, “not until you answer me first,” using his same exact words, a forced smile was carved into his face, “what makes you think I used legilimency on you?” his tone sounded as if he was talking to someone threatening. Rosalie never lowered her wand; she was very threatening with or without a wand.

Rosalie said hotly with a cruel voice she never thought was familiar to her usual one. humans really are protective of their thoughts and memories, “because you’re rubbish at it!”. Tom face was drained of all emotions, he was only clutching his jaw harshly. He hated being cursed, especially from this tiny Hufflepuff girl. He looked at her pastel pink wand, chuckled sarcastically, “is this why you learned wandless magic? Because you’re ashamed of your wand?”. Rosalie frowned; her eyes fell to her wand. Clueless of Tom slick actions, snatching his wand from her. He flicked it and took her wand from her hand. Rosalie face grew hot with anger, before he can turn anywhere, Rosalie yelled, “nigrum caligo!”. Flashes of black mist filled his eyes. Tom stumbled with slight stun, she took her wand, “good legilimency isn’t supposed to be noticed! Yours felt like a hoard of bees attacking me” She took an exhale and added sternly, “it’s like this!”.

With these words, Rosalie swam deeper and deeper into his strange mind. Seeing flashes of dark articles on books. A depressing metallic banner that said: WOOL ORPHANGE, entering a lot further, she saw a small narrow room with a single metallic bed, then weird flashes of two children kneeling under her, the two kids were wailing as she heard sinister laughs coming from her un-familiar throat. She was pulled back to consciousness by Tom using occlumency to protect his mind. Rosalie asked, “How can you do that with no hesitation?”. Tom left the room at once, he felt very violated and little. How can a tiny Hufflepuff girl do that to him? And why was that strange woman strangling her? He wondered.

Rosalie heard until his angry footsteps lowered until he left for good, Rosalie felt very disgusting after invading his mind. Plus, his memories were very dark, lonely and sad. He hadn’t had a single happy memory, she somehow commiserated him. She wondered if this was his life. To be a distressed orphan that read dark articles. Her stomach flipped when she pictured the two kids kneeling by Tom, they were crying very loud and their bloody fingertips were frightening. Rosalie hated that feeling and remembered exactly why she never used legilimency, even though she was flawless at it.

“You ditched us!” Ariadne voice came booming from the doorway, Rosalie realised she was supposed to clean the green house. Elizabeth showed up next to a furious Ariadne, her arms crossed as a smirk was drawn on her face. Rosalie apologised sincerely, “I’m so sorry! I had no sense of time; I swear I will make it up to you!”. Ariadne angry face vanished as it was replaced by mischievousness, she and Elizabeth traded a look. Then Ariadne said, “you will treat us to snacks from honeydukes”. Elizabeth rolled her eyes, but a smile was still on her lips, “treat her to honeydukes, I want butterbeer”. Rosalie agreed, linking her arms to each of them, “alright ladies, let’s go eat for now”.

* * *

A week passed; Rosalie fully fitted in to her daily life at Hogwarts. Elizabeth and Ariadne finally became closer and friendly. Their personalities were polar opposites, Rosalie was just thankful they became friends and got on good terms. It was a Thursday twilight when the Hufflepuffs had a shared Astronomy class with the Slytherins, Rosalie gathered all her courage to apologise to Tom. She felt stupid for doing that since he was the one that violated her in the first place, but for a strange reason it felt like the right thing to do.

Rosalie couldn’t take off the thought of her older self in that vision, it felt real and fake at the same time. What did her older self mean? However, Rosalie had to agree to that woman words, she was naïve, and she never felt more ingenuous than this moment of her life. But it felt right.

Ariadne was whining more than usual; she was swatted few times by an exasperated Sierra. It was slightly humorous, but Rosalie unease always dampened her joyful laugh. Ariadne flipped through the papers with irritation, “Why can’t you come with me?” she wailed to Sierra. The mousy haired girl looked away, clutching her quill as she hissed, “because you will catch me dead before having a rendezvous with those stuck-up Ravenclaws”, Ariadne pouted, her legs childishly flailing as she let peculiar noises. This scene made Rosalie wonder again why Ariadne was chosen as a prefect. “why don’t you ask Rosalie? She never says no!”

Ariadne face lit up, leaning closer to Rosalie, “Rose-Rose! You will come with me to a double date, right?!”. Rosalie couldn’t find the heart to refuse, she had no interest in going to a date. Nevertheless, she didn’t want to make Ariadne upset. Rosalie asked warily, “who’s coming?”. Ariadne quickly answered, “Jack Bell and Leo Hornby”. Rosalie made a hesitant face, these two were the most elitist Ravenclaws. Ariadne face fell upon Rosalie face expression, “you’re not coming?”. Rosalie instantly agreed, “fine! I’m going!”. Ariadne fisted the air ecstatically, “You saved my life right there, Rose-Rose”

Sierra rested her head on her palm, then asked, “how did you even manage to convince those two elitists?”. Rosalie interest peaked as Ariadne face flushed, “the thing is, I asked Jack for his notes at History of magic. He told me he would give them to me if I agreed to go on a date with him. I was startled and told him I wanted to bring a friend with me”. Sierra scoffed, then said, “Ari, you are Stupid! You could’ve asked me for notes!”. Ariadne protested, “what?! Your hand-writing is like chicken scribblings!”. Professor Merrythought gave the two girls a stern look as she completed her stroll around the circular tower; making sure everyone was doing their work.

Professor Merrythought collected all of their papers, she said, “now, good-night everyone. Get back to your beds”. Rosalie heart raced; it was time to confront Tom. She stood up and chaotically stuck her books and papers to her haversack, momentarily looking out of the door to make sure Tom hadn’t left yet. Though, Rosalie saw his figure walking with Abraxas. She quickly told her friends, “I’m leaving first!” then dashed to the door. Rosalie ran down the stairs very loudly, catching a glimpse of Tom hovering robes and gorgeous hair, she took a turn to the corner to find the both of them stopping to look at her.

“Why are you following us?” Abraxas asked with a glare, Rosalie fidgeted with the strap of her bag as she asked with optimistic eyes, “Riddle, Can I talk to you in private?”. The boy with the darker hair approached her, she met him halfway through the corridor, Abraxas left.

Rosalie finally said, “I’m very sorry about what I did,” Rosalie felt so much better with the apology, comfort was laid on her heart. Tom narrowed his eyes at her sceptically, “what do you want from me?”. Rosalie opened her mouth with an amazed face on her face, she gradually asked, “you think I’m apologising because I want something from you?”. Tom face returned expressionless, “isn’t that why people apologise?”. Rosalie shrugged her shoulders, with puzzled emotions, “I guess I’m asking for forgiveness?”

The conversation was going to an opposite direction from what Rosalie hoped for and she found herself in a stupid situation. Again. They remained silent before Rosalie waved at him awkwardly, “Good night”. Tom stopped her with a strange request, “if you want my forgiveness, will you do anything I say?” Rosalie raised an eyebrow, saying without a second thought, “Yes”.

Rosalie rapidly regretted that choice when his angelic face was substituted with diabolic, monstrous and demonic expression.

* * *

hello everybody! I'm so sorry for the delay, it won't happen again. I wanted to clarify some things; I'm aware that Africa is not one huge country and it's a whole continent, I'm African after all. But I only said that because Africa has one school of magic which is Uagado. So, typically it has one ministry of magic. I didn't want to say Fida was a minister of magic cuz let's be real, that ain't give the woman justice. So, no. she's the not minister of magic, she is the ruler of the magical world in Africa. like everybody respects her and she even rules the African minister of magic, but it's a lil lowkey. if you have questions regarding this new info, feel free to ask me. 


	5. Chapter 3: Too much love.

Chapter 3: Too much love.

* * *

Chapter 3

Rosalie felt stupid, her mind was having attack. Her eyes tracing Tom handsome features with concern and regret, “I take that back,” Rosalie said instantaneously. Tom smirked, his look was challenging, “You’re a princess, you can’t take your words back. No?”. Rosalie mind was lit by rapid fire as panic slowly rose in her chest, she cursed herself several times for being a people-pleaser. You’re stupid! She told herself repeatedly.

She slightly relaxed as a voice told her that it was a chance to gain his trust, just like her older self wanted her to. Rosalie picked up courage as she asked, “So what do you want from me?”. Smugness and pride were very clear in his satin voice, he replied “from now on, you will do as I say” Rosalie crossed her arms with a smirk on her face, she said, “You’re very predictable, before you use me…” Tom smirk fell.

She leaned closer to him with dominance in her posture, “Think twice, I’m very dangerous”. Tom tilted his head slightly, his eyes narrowed at the petite woman before him. Then he said, “Very well, I happen to like taking risks”. The girl raised her head higher in hopes of establishing dominance. She watched him turn and leave, as soon as he left her shoulders sank and one thought was on her mind. Rosalie Zane Abella, you’re naïve and a disgrace.

* * *

“Do I look alright?” Ariadne inquired for the third time, her hand fixing the stray hairs covering her forehead. Rosalie groaned and approved, “yes, you look beautiful”. Ariadne almost believed Rosalie candid confrontations, she shook her head swiftly and rejected, “no, no, this won’t work with me, I need honesty, real talk”. Rosalie face palmed her face and crossed her arms, they waited patiently for the two boys to appear.

Rosalie said reluctantly, “don’t you think we’ve arrived a bit early?”, her hand coming to unravel her scarf, resting it on her lap and clutching it with anxiety. Ariadne exhaled, “I know I know! I was just a bit excited that’s all”. Ariadne eyes kept tracing the entrance of the three broomsticks, eyeing it with growing anticipation. Rosalie rested her head on the booth wall, she asked; trying to let Ariadne anxiety loose “you have never gone on a date before?”. Ariadne shook her head, “it’s my first date”.

Rosalie had to physically stop herself from saying: and you’re having your first date with this snob? But she decided against it last minute, Ariadne got the signal and sighed, “I know, it’s just I have always thought he was a good man, the type you will want to keep for later in life”, her last words made her cheeks coat with bashfulness. Rosalie agreed to her words, but smiled playfully, “You’re already thinking about marriage? You’re su-“

“What?! It’s just that mom told me to think about finding a man, I’m not clever so…” she fixed her hair one last time. Rosalie gave her an understanding look; Ariadne asked, feeling that the atmosphere was becoming thicker with thoughts, “What about you?! You’ve never told me what you will do after graduation”. Rosalie tilted her head and brainstormed her answer. However, the two boys appeared before them. The two girls straightened their postures and exchanged simple introductions with them.

Jack Bell was a blond with dark eyes, he wasn’t too handsome or too charming and he had a quite bland colour to him, he never stood out from a crowd. He was the total opposite of Ariadne; she was loud and extremely playful, she always stood out in the middle of a crowd and she was very colourful. Jack told Ariadne, “you look very pretty,” the girl blushed yet a grin was on her face, “thank you, and you look very handsome,”. The awkward tension remained with the group. Rosalie stood up and offered, “butterbeer?” the three agreed, Leo standing as well, “I will help you”. Rosalie was slightly stunned; he wasn’t what he appeared to be in class.

They walked to the stand, Rosalie gesturing the number four to the clerk. Hogwarts students only wanted butterbeer after all. “you look beautiful today,” Leo caught her off guard with the compliment. Rosalie had to stop herself from telling him she knows, she always cared about her appearance and always looked polished. She thanked simply, “thank you”

“you’re not going to tell me I’m good-looking as well?” Leo said, slightly offended. Rosalie grinned apologetically, “I’m sorry, Hornby. And yes, you look charming, as usual”. Leo face glowed with a pretty blush. His figure was tall and slim, his face was very good-looking. Everyone knew that; they ceased from telling him as to not boost up his ego more. Rosalie thought his ego was harmless, let’s blow it some more; it’s not a problem. She told herself.

When madam Rosemerta handed them four goblets, they took it and headed for the corner booth. Rosalie gave Ariadne her cup. The two of them looked much familiar and comfortable, Ariadne was laughing as she sipped into the butterbeer. She looked like she enjoyed Jack company. Rosalie wondered if it was a good idea to come with Ariadne. The girl decided for now she will just boost Leo Hornby ego, she had nothing to do and supplementing people with praises was her forte.

Rosalie started, “So, Leo, I noticed you’re a prefect and have perfect grades at all subjects-“. “you noticed that?” Leo asked, as if he completely forgot people can see him and create opinions about him. Rosalie affirmed his question with a slight nod, he looked withdrawn with deep thoughts. Ariadne and Jack were happily conversing with each other with hushed voices. It was shocking to Rosalie; she never thought Ariadne had the ability to speak with such a quite voice.

Bored, fed up and uninterested Rosalie deeply regretted coming to this date. Her only getaway was Leo but he looked way too deep into his thoughts, she respected that. However, it was getting really boring with her looking around trying to find anything to occupy her interest. She found none except the funny looking chandelier, she forgot her existence in it. Soon enough and luckily, Ariadne nudged her and said, “Jack and I are going to madam Puddifot to have some tea- don’t look at me like that”. Rosalie was throwing her suggestive looks with wiggles of her eyebrows. “You can hang out with Leo, if you want”, Ariadne offered.

Rosalie glanced at Leo that had hopeful eyes. He came out of his daydream state? She wondered, unluckily, she had no interest. The goal was to give support to Ariadne, the girl didn’t seem to need it anymore. Rosalie gestured for them to go, “just go on with your lovely date you two, don’t worry about us”. The couple blushed heavily as they left the pub. Rosalie said, “it was a lovely date, I’m going back to the castle”

Leo said, “I will walk you,”. Rosalie gawkily agreed and they both stood up; heading to the gate. The weather was chilly at the ends of September, the air bit the skins ruthlessly with cold. The trees were slightly stripped from the orange crunchy leaves. Rosalie found a small joy in walking above the cobblestoned road that was blanketed with autumn leaves. “W-what’s your favourite time of the year?”. Rosalie glanced at Leo bashful face, she replied, “I like them all, I like the leaves of autumn, the flowers in spring, the beach in the summer and the snow in winter. What about you?”.

Leo looked slightly surprised at the direct of the conversation, he wasn’t used to people being curious about his thoughts and opinions. So, he got used to laying his opinion forcefully. No matter how superficial Rosalie question was, it still made him happy. “I like winter”.

The gates to the castle were closer to their line of view, Rosalie couldn’t help but want to raid the kitchens. “You don’t know this but Koalas have fingerprints,” Leo suddenly said. Amusement was written on his whole face. Rosalie chuckled remembering a joke, she asked, “Hey, why aren’t Koalas considered bears?”

Leo said arrogantly instantly, “because they’re marsupials, everybody knows that”. Rosalie scoffed, hiding her palms inside her jacket pockets, “It was supposed to be a joke, the answer is that they don’t have the right koalafications “

Leo looked very taken back at the girl respond, Rosalie pushed the school gate a little more angrily than what she’d liked to, “Do you think I’m stupid?” Rosalie asked. Leo gave her an obvious answer along his usual arrogance, “I know everyone mental abilities is beneath me”. Rosalie grinned, he looked like a simple arrogant git that had no history in talking to girls. Harmless, really. She told herself. Rosalie then said, “I agree with that, you’re very smart”. Leo face glowed again with a thick blush.

“and handsome too” Rosalie added, inspected his nervous look, “you’re very perfect and flawless, you’re a prefect?” by the time Rosalie asked her question Leo looked like he was going to melt all the ice around him with his scorching blush. Rosalie hid her chuckle; it really was very easy to mess with Leo. “Do other girls tell you that?” Rosalie asked with interest, Leo was very good-looking and smart, and he knew that. But Rosalie knew no one had the courage to tell him, afraid it will get to his head and blow his ego. Rosalie decided she will do the opposite of that; it was fun making him blush.

The bossy, elitist and arrogant Leo that gets shy when a girl praises him. Leo shook his head at her question, Rosalie acted as if she was surprised, “such a waste! You’re very good-looking,”. They entered the castle great corridors, taking turns as Leo tried his best to start a conversation. Rosalie grinned widely. Her days at Hogwarts needed more fun, what was the harm in having a fling with the terrible Leo Hornby? Again, her reasoning was he was totally harmless.

When they reached to the Hufflepuff basement. Leo finally said, “W-would you like to go to the library with me?”. Rosalie looked at the ground; hiding the grin on her face. Rosalie politely refused, “No,”

Leo looked slightly disappointed. Nonetheless, he still stuck out his chest and raised his head high. His annoyed expression reminded Rosalie of a puppy, but a kitten at the same time. “You don’t have an excuse?” he asked, Rosalie tilted her head with confusion, he elaborated, “people usually put excuses after declining an offer”. The girl chuckled, shook her head and refused again, “No excuses”. Leo face lit up again as he offered, “Well? Come with me then!”

The girl glanced at his eager face. She was certain now he had no experiences with the opposite sex. “I would like to take a nap” Rosalie said softly, Leo squinted his eyes, “You don’t need sleep, naps are very bad- you will wake up with a headache”. He tried to convince Rosalie. The brunette grinned and said, “I will see you tomorrow”. Before he could protest, Rosalie quickly knocked on the barrels.

* * *

When Rosalie saw the thick forest around her, she knew it was her older self calling her again. Rosalie waited patiently. Soon, her older version came marching to her, she screamed in anger. Her voice boomed through the elevated trees; the birds escaped, even the sound steps of some animals was heard as they left the scene, Rosalie watched her with shocked eyes. The older woman raised her palm so high to the sky and landed it straight on her younger self left cheek.

Rosalie held her left cheek, she yelled “what was that for?!”. Her older self had a hardened glare on her face, she then bombed the girl with curses, “You desperate, little vicious promiscuous creature!” Rosalie face was startled with stun, she then remarked sharply, “What was that?! Promiscuous?! Me?! You’re hallucinating!”

Older Rosalie exhaled and inhaled sharply before she said, “Why did you get close to Leo Hornby?!” Rosalie gulped fearfully, then she faked courage as she asked, “What?”. Her older self repeated the question slowly, with growing anger, “Why. Did. You. Get. Close. To him?”

Rosalie frowned and said, “what is that supposed to mean? Does every person I meet get magically merged into your History?” her older self furiously massaged the bridge of her nose, “Yes, my pervious life was all a dream and when I woke up I had a- a- a husband, I had a baby!” the younger girl held her head as new information was thrusted to her system, “Wait, you mean I’m marrying Leo Hornby? I don’t even like him that way!”

“You fool! Naïve! In my life, Tom was an ex-lover that I left for good, he didn’t take it very well when I married Leo…” The older woman said, finding a dull tree to rest her aching back. And Rosalie feared aging even more, seeing herself in the need of physical support was scary. “You have to be upfront! Don’t be ambiguous about it!” Rosalie roared.

The older woman casted her a nasty look, she then took a deep breath as she sat on the base of the same dull tree, “we have the same history, except I finished my education at Uagadou. Fida crowned me as her heir and at the age of seventeen, she gave me a challenge to accomplish to get the throne. She told me to find a serpentine dragon at the forests of Albania,”

Rosalie wanted to ask why do they have the same history, why hadn’t Fida tried to choke this woman? Was this woman from an alternative world? “I found it and found Tom, we fell in love so hard, humans tend to have a special bond with people they had hardships with. When Tom found the thing he was looking for and I did too, it was time to go home, he convinced me to come with him, I threw away the crown and followed him”

Rosalie patience was running low with the older woman slow interpreting, she took inhales after each half a minute of talking, Rosalie loathed aging even more, “we were so different, we wanted different things, it didn’t work. So, I left him while he was about to leave for one of his long trips away from home, at that time I met Leo. We liked each other and got married, Tom ruined everything! and when I got pregnant Tom was furious, he killed Leo,” the woman stopped talking as her voice was becoming stuffier with tears, she quickly wiped her tears and added after a long inhale, “when I gave birth to the child, he killed it, he slayed my baby, my daughter”

Rosalie hand shot up to hide her gasp, the older woman wailed very loud it made the returning birds flee once again, her voice echoed through the woods with the most bone shattering noise ever, it truly was hurtful, Rosalie could feel it inside her quivering abdomen. She remained silent as she watched herself cry with so much agony and hurt. Her older self wiped her sobbing yet the streamed once again as if they were faucets, “I don’t understand how you got to continue your life at Uagadou, to stay with grandma and dad…” Rosalie said, her voice getting lower and lower as a frown formed on her face.

Her older self rubbed her tears once and for all, her form returning poised as she stood up. It made Rosalie slightly anxious, was it something that serious? “Fida didn’t do it that night, Polyjuice did the trick, I obliviated her and forced her to believe she was the one to do it,”

Now, it was younger Rosalie turn to use the dull tree for mental support. She slowly lowered her body to the base. She whispered; with a voice lower than she wanted it to be, with a life she missed dearly that she lost, “You did what?” her older self remained poised and stuck her chin up with pride, Rosalie whispered a little louder, “Why did you do all of that? You made me believe grandma despised me, but it was you? It was me all along?”

Her older self looked away with a scoff, “I did it to protect loads of people, thousands of lives. Did you know that Tom killed Papa? No! He killed grandma, auntie and Canna. Even if Canna is a terrible person she’s still family, he killed them because they were genuinely worried about me, they told me he was no good, I hadn’t believed them, it was my fault and I did all of this to fix it”

Rosalie glared at her and shouted, “You lied to me!”, her older self violently grasped her shoulders, so tightly it felt like her previous touch, it felt so similar to her strangle that time, it was confirmation for her that her grandmother would never do that to her, “So? That fact is useless, you shan’t go back home, Papa would never let you”

Rosalie pushed her hands away and yelled, “No! I will go back! I will go to grandma! And-and-and tell her everything! We will get back just like how we used to be!” a stinging pain fluttered on Rosalie left cheek once again, she was slapped twice, Rosalie glared at her older self. “Listen you foolish girl! I’m doing this to protect her and everyone else!”

“Stop letting your emotions control you for once! Your stupid emotions were the reason they were killed at the first place!” the older woman shouted; Rosalie backed away. Her fist clenching and she wondered if it would be improper to punch her older self. “listen to me, this is our chance to fix everything, to let them live to not create any more unnecessary deaths” Rosalie casted a look to a nearby rock, pondering if it was right to take it and to swat her older self with it.

“listen to me please, I’m begging you” her older self said, touching her hands gently, Rosalie flinched from the feeling of her own aged hands feeling her softer hands. It felt odd, her older self kneeled to the ground, she cried, “please, do the right thing.”

Rosalie felt awkward, it felt wrong and the rising goosebumps on her bare arms didn’t help. “plan A is to make Tom belong, love him fiercely and be adamant about him forgetting about his dark plans, he is an orphan that just wants to feel like he belonged somewhere ad to someone, I was too late to change his plans so it didn’t work. Plan B is to destroy him before he starts killing and terrorising people”

Her older self stroked her hair, with so many mixed emotions trapped in her eyes, “don’t make the same mistakes. And, never, never leave him, he deserves love, you have to give him a chance” the hand on Rosalie head felt heavier, Rosalie felt chills running on her spine, her older self hand came to rest at her chin, she raised it to force her to look at her. They exchanged a look with so many different feelings, same look yet different feelings. The same person yet with different lives, “You have too much love to give, why don’t you give him some?”

With that her aged version vanished very slowly, she whispered, “Good luck,”. When she finally disappeared, Rosalie felt awfully lonely and responsible, it felt like the whole mountains of the world were on her shoulders, she felt so, so, so, small and cannot even be seen or felt on this large world.

Rosalie felt her body get thrust to a body of water, getting squeezed from everywhere and sinking lower and lower. She wondered, why? To all the powers of this universe, she hadn’t received an answer. She woke up from her dreamlike communication with her regretful self with a gasp, she shot up from her bed. Her roommates were deeply snuggled to their beds, light snores left Ariadne side of the room. Rosalie looked out of the circular window, the moon shined dim lights to the room.

The polished grandfather clock said, that it was 5 in the morning; the colder seasons nights were longer. Rosalie purposely ignored the fact that she slept for more than twelve hours. She decided she will have an early start to her day, she couldn’t get sleep anyway. Rosalie laid back to her bed and cried silently.

* * *

“Good morning, Abella”

Rosalie turned to look at Leo, she glanced at his hand on her shoulder. He instantly took it away, “I called you three times but you hadn’t paid attention to me, you seemed to be in very deep thoughts” he said quickly, sitting himself next to her. Rosalie looked around her, she was at the great hall. Sitting on her usual spot, she was sitting by herself which was strange. She was always accompanied by Ariadne or Elizabeth. The great hall was bustling with energy, the sun shinning slightly dim from it’s normal rate. Rosalie concluded that it must be the early evening of her Sunday.

“if you’re wondering about Meadows and Potter. Potter has a Quidditch practice, Meadows is on a date with Jack” Leo informed her. The girl nodded, she took a sip from her golden goblet; her throat feeling very dry due to her not speaking to anyone the whole morning. “Which this makes me think, shouldn’t we have a- you know- a- a second date?” Leo asked, Rosalie coughed into her cup crudely. Leo face was painted once again with scarlet. Rosalie felt very bad for declining his offer, yet she had to. “I’m sorry, I don’t think we are compatible”

Leo frowned; he really did look like a pet. Kitten or a puppy, Rosalie wasn’t sure, but he looked very harmless and lovely. “How so? I’m intelligent, handsome, tall and rich” Leo argued. Rosalie chuckled; she was in need for something light-hearted. He was very harmless yet very arrogant. It made Rosalie wonder why the girls didn’t approach him like the approached Tom.

“You’re right,” Rosalie said with a shrug, finally noticing the delicious food infront of her. “I always am” Leo said, his head raised high with a proud smile on his face. “but that doesn’t mean we should go on another date” Rosalie said.

The minute she said that, Tom walked inside the hall. It made her heart beat faster with increasing anxiety, she felt responsibility hit her again. Her eyes accidentally went to Leo and saw him flipping furiously through a book, with that scene photographed to Rosalie mind, it felt like it was impossible for him to die; he was regular, and he was breathing and moving well.

* * *

On Monday morning, Ariadne was moaning with less energy than usual, “why do I have to go to Potions with the Slytherins?! Why can’t we just have every class with the Ravenclaws?!”. She pushed the gate open, the first thing was seen was Tom attractive features as he conversed with Abraxas, they were strangely speaking with hushed tones. When they spot Rosalie and Ariadne walking by they stopped talking and watched them cautiously. Ariadne rolled her eyes at them and set her stationary to her usual spot.

The class finished in a blank of eye, especially with Rosalie deep thoughts and Eileen boring voice explaining things to her; Rosalie swore she almost dozed off each time Eileen talked. Thankfully, the class finished. Rosalie had no idea how to approach Tom or even strike a conversation with him without sounding and looking strange. He always had Abraxas Malfoy with him or Orion Black, which was an equally attractive man as well. It made Rosalie wonder if it was one of Tom requirements to be good-looking to earn the right of becoming his accompany. Yes, earn. He always looked as if he was the leader and the boss. Even when he was surrounded by older students, he still looked like he was the one with all power. Rosalie noticed all of this as the days of September were finished, October days ticker off. Still, Rosalie didn’t find any chance to talk to Tom.

Even at the slug club, she couldn’t. she found out Leo, Elizabeth and Jack all go to. She had absolutely no way to talk to Tom. And he hadn’t approached her at all from their last encounter, it made Rosalie think if he made all that scene to proclaim his dominance and power over her, that it was all something mental just to assure himself that he was still the boss.

The girl wished deeply for a chance, and, the chance came to her on Halloween.

The great hall was booming with more energy than ever. The Quidditch team made a fantastic show with their broomsticks, Elizabeth was one of them and she stood out the most with her natural talent. Rosalie found out that Minerva McGonagall was the captain of the Quidditch team, she respected her more. Ariadne and Jack finally became a couple, they were inseparable. It felt lonely without Ariadne at weekends and at break time. But Leo was there, he was not of a good company as Ariadne but he was still nice to have around with his know-it-all attitude. Elizabeth had lots of Quidditch practices and matches. Rosalie had to admit she disliked that a lot and that she missed home more than anything. But whenever she would think about home her older self words would carve into her brain, don’t let your emotions control you.

“this wasn’t bad” Leo said as he clapped to the brilliant broomsticks show, Rosalie eye caught Abraxas bright head. He was with Orion only. No Tom around. Rosalie wondered if this was her chance. Her heart hammered through her rib cage with the loud music for the show. She quickly stood up, Leo gave her inquiring eyes, she quickly dismissed them with an answer to his silent question, “Oh I’m just going to the restroom”.

With that she left the great hall that was filled with all the students and staff of Hogwarts, except Tom.

The minute Rosalie feet stepped out of the great hall, silence enveloped her to the point her ears started ringing. She calmed herself down as she followed her intuition to the whereabouts of Tom. Finding topics that luckily won’t bore him and he seemed very interested in wandless magic so she could perhaps teach him. The astronomy tower wasn’t many people favourite choice; it was very high and looked extremely dangerous.

So, Rosalie had a clear idea where Tom would be. The silent empty castle corridors were spine-chilling and alarming. And when Rosalie walked out to the interior garden of Hogwarts, the October chills were mercilessly storming small tornados to her; it made Rosalie hate the idea of going up to the cold height of the southern tallest tower. Yet, her feelings shouldn’t get in the way of rescuing the dim future. So, she climbed through the tall parapet of the tower; it was off-limits outside class time. That’s why the gate was locked with a password.

Just when she walked up the stairs, tiptoeing to avoid her steps being heard. And when she reached to the last and the tallest floor of Hogwarts, her heart was right. Tom was there. His back was to her, he was resting his arms on the ledge. Rosalie feet slightly creaked on the unstable floor of the tower. Tom instantly turned to look at her. He narrowed his eyes “What are you doing here?”, he inquired.

Rosalie approached him and noticed the crumpled letter on his left hand. With a muggle stamp on it, she was able to recognise it thanks to Sierra muggle parents who sent her regular letters with a stamp on it for unidentified reason. He hid the letter behind his back when he noticed her look. Rosalie stood next to him and watched the pretty horizon facing Hogwarts castle.

“I said, what are you doing here?” Tom repeated, with a hard glare. Rosalie turned to look at him with a small smile and answered sincerely, “because you weren’t at the party,”. Tom stood still upon hearing her answer, “what do you want from me?” he asked, his sceptical look never leaving his face. Rosalie tilted her face in deep thought to find an answer, “nothing, really,”

“leave” Tom demanded with a stern face, his attractive features switching dramatically with an unwelcoming look. Rosalie looked past him at the brightest star on the sky, she pointed at it with a huge grin. “look at that star! It looks exactly like you!”. Tom didn’t budge, he repeated his demand. “Leave!”. The girl looked at him and asked, unfazed with his outburst, “Why? You surely don’t own this place”. Tom looked away, infuriated with her persistent personality.

“You’re a stubborn child” Tom said, then turned to his original posture. His eyes accidentally falling on the star Rosalie previously pointed at, he surely didn’t want to look at something she told him to look at. He diverted his eyes from it. “I’m not stubborn at all, but I’m not leaving you alone”

“why’s that?” Tom asked, his anger rising with each word she said. Plus, Rosalie looked very calm and unfazed at all; which was a bonus to his frustration. “because you’re upset about something,” Tom scoffed, “Do you genuinely think I will tell you why I’m ‘upset’?”. The brunette eyes returned to his face; tracing it with a gentle look. “I haven’t asked you to tell me what the matter was, however, I can guess”

“liar” Tom said shortly, dismissing her attitude, “you’re a clueless Hufflepuff, your house is a waste of resources and space-“ his words were cut by Rosalie caressing his left hand then flipping it to open his palm to reveal the crumpled letter, “It’s about the orphanage, you don’t have to tell me”.

Tom was astonished with her actions, yet, he hadn’t said anything. And turned to gaze at the sky with her in silence. No nasty remarks were shared. It was very peaceful; the clouds moving significantly to cover and discover bright stars and the waning gibbous moon looked pretty. and for once Tom didn’t hate the world.

* * *

I'm aware I took an awful time to post this chapter, I had an incident with the draft. I forgot to save it so I had to rewrite half of it once again. I lost motivation but, finally regained it after seeing lots and lots of pictures of Tom Riddle. 

I hope the same accident doesn't happen because if it does I will cry myself to sleep. I hope you enjoyed the chapter :D 


	6. Chapter 4: Secrets.

Chapter 4: Secrets.

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Chapter 4:

Tom regained his composure and thoughts back when a snowflake landed on his nose. When did he stop thinking? He wondered, he looked at Rosalie to find her tightening her scarf around her neck. She noticed him then grinned at him. This was it, a sense of uncertainty filled him. He hated it. So, he turned to the interior of the astronomy class. His polished shoes clapped gently on the wooden floor.

“here” Rosalie said, she approached him quickly and handed him the letter that fell from his grasp somehow. He reluctantly took it and told the darker skinned girl, “You could’ve read it,” the letter was still crumpled just like how he crumpled it the first time; she hadn’t opened it. The girl shrugged her shoulders, a small smile on her lips as she tucked the letter to his palms, “I would never steep this low”. For some reason, he believed it. He wasn’t sceptical. It reminded him of their first encounter when she proudly used wandless magic, clearly and obviously to shut Abraxas big mouth.

“what do you want from me?” Tom asked her, honestly curious to what she had to say. This time Rosalie looked like she had something else to say than her insisting she doesn’t want anything from him. “I thought I could give you books to learn wandless magic, then you can teach me the harder tricks. Hogwarts doesn’t supply self-learning books”. Tom frowned slightly, then his face returned expressionless, “I thought you were powerful and the heir to Fida Abella for a reason,” he stuck his chin higher and watched her down his nose. Rosalie tilted her head slightly and said, “perhaps, but I still need to learn more. I used to get taught and to be honest, you’re better than me at self-learning”

Tom made a single nod, his face was still morphed with his usual arrogance. Yet, he looked harmful unlike Leo. In fact, very harmful. He carefully studied Rosalie offer then said, “Correct, but, I have no interest in teaching you. Your house are considered to be the slowest of the bunch”. Rosalie joined her hands and said, “I don’t think you should judge on a person based on their house, I assure you, I’m not slow”. Tom narrowed his eyes at her then considered her idea once again, he really wanted to learn wandless magic, he surely didn’t want to teach Rosalie. He thought of the possibility to ask for Abraxas or Orion to give him the books from their family private library. Unfortunately, such books were only published at the African wizarding world.

After Seraphina battle with Fida, she made sure to burn all the books teaching wandless magic. Her rage about younger generations mastering arts of things she wasn’t taught was too much to handle. Fida and very few people had the rare ability, Fida made sure to teach Rosalie. Tom suddenly asked, “Where are you going to get the books from?”.

“From grandma library” She responded swiftly. Before Tom could inquire how she will get them, Rosalie added, “I will smuggle them,”. Tom scoffed, “How so? With your excellent ability to apparate?”. His cynical reply didn’t dampen Rosalie pleased grin, “Much better, did you know that half-kneazels are celver and capable?”. Tom face didn’t change, silently asking for more information, Rosalie appreciatively fulfilled,” I have a half-kneazel familiar, her name is Persephone, she’s not used to the climate of Europe, so she ran back home. I expect her to be here by Christmas eve along some things I told her to get them for me, including the books”

Tom pressed his lips together, then finally agreed to her idea. She clasped her hands under her jaw and beamed before twirling to look back at the starry night of the snowy Halloween night. Tom looked away from her then said, “Until that time,” She waved her hand without looking at him. The moment his steps were lowering. Rosalie sighed heavily and hugged her body as she watched the sky, was it a smart choice to teach the future Gellert Grindelwald?

When the cold weather became unbearable, the girl left the astronomy tower. And retraced her steps to the other side of the castle. Spending that time at the restroom was unbelievable, Leo would soon learn that she lied to him. When Rosalie found the hoards of students leaving the great hall; it was time for bed. The girl squinted her eyes; desperately trying to find her friends or Leo. Anyone she was comfortable around with.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Hornby words were right. We just have to find a short figure and we will find you” Elizabeth said with a smile, she was still wearing the unified costume for their broomsticks show. She was standing next to Leo, Ariadne, Jack and Sierra. Rosalie scoffed with a smile, “Rude”. They all chuckled as they walked next to each other to some unknown place, Rosalie slightly nudged Leo, “How dare you make fun of my height?”. He shrugged his shoulders and teased, “I’m just stating facts”. The girl gently punched his side.

“I’m sorry, about neglecting you guys” Ariadne said softly, she was piloting the bunch to the Hufflepuff dorms. “Apologize properly, beg for our mercy. And learn that just because you got yourself a man that doesn’t give you any right to neglect us,” Sierra said, her arms crossed as she had a bossy tone and stance, the grin on her face making it perceptible that she was joking. Elizabeth rested her arm around Rosalie, “You should apologize to this girl, she was spending her days with this bland git”, she pointed at Leo with her thumb. Leo glared at her then remarked, “Potter, I would love to see you pass one subject without the need of Fleamont help”.

The blonde had a slight blush, she noted Rosalie confused looks. She explained, “Fleamont is my brother, he sometimes helps me with schoolwork” She emphasized on the word ‘sometimes’ then shot another glare to Leo. Rosalie questioned with levitating misperception, “I don’t get it, how come he knows you have a brother and even calls by his first name while he calls you with your last name? this is strange!”. Ariadne affirmed with a hard nod, “Yes! Are you secret lovers or something?”

Elizabeth gasped her hand coming to calm her speeding heart. Leo having the most repulsed look on his face ever, he refused strongly; his eyes looking at Rosalie’s as if he was only convincing her, “NO! that’s not true! Our parents are friends and we sometimes spend Christmas together!”. Elizabeth slapped Ariadne arm quickly, she received a glare from Jack. “yes, he’s right!” she added loudly. Which was very unusual to Elizabeth cold and low tone.

“Fine, but why are you guys coming with us? We passed your dorms a while ago” Rosalie asked, her eyes searching for an answer from the two Ravenclaws and the lone Gryffindor. Ariadne mischievous smile didn’t soothe her raging disordered mind. Sierra pointed at the Hufflepuff barrels, then said, “I am going to sleep, thank you very much,” she gave the rest of the party a disapproving look; the missed by looking weirdly to different directions, Sierra added, “but THESE kids are going to party some more” she then turned to knock on the barrels. “You’re coming with us, no excuses will be accepted”, Ariadne as she pushed Rosalie to the kitchens.

“Rosalie doesn’t do excuses, she’s very adamant when it comes to declining friendly offers” Leo said, attempting to take the other side or Rosalie arm to push her further away from the dorms; he got pushed by Elizabeth that gave him a scowl as she took Rosalie arm. “Will you kids stop fighting?” Jack said, his voice sounding as if he was a parent. As soon the group arrived to the kitchens, to be greeted with several generous elf’s offering variety of dishes. Ariadne led them further inside the kitchens and to the large fireplace with several stools spreading around it. “please don’t tell me we’re stealing the elf’s resting place” Rosalie said, her anxiety rising.

“What? No, we’re using floo powder to get to Hogsmeade” Elizabeth explained, Ariadne took a small pouch from her pocket, she looked very happy to hold such powder, “You look very happy and it’s making me worried” Rosalie stated. “She sneaked in the powder at the beginning of the school year, just so she could do this” Jack explained. He stood inside the fireplace, “I will go first to make sure it’s safe for us” he added, Ariadne face switching to a lovestruck one instantly. Which made the blond boy very pleased; that was his goal after all. Elizabeth exhaled bluntly, “stop it with your stupid acts and just check!”.

He instantly used the handful of the powder, after saying clearly his destination. After couple seconds Ariadne pocket watch made a noise that seemed to be some sort of a chime, she said happily, “Jack said it’s safe”. Elizabeth crossed her arms and said, “that damned pocket watch is sometimes useful”.

When they all arrived to Hogsmeade, which they arrived at the fireplace of Honeydukes. They left the small grouped shops to the small hill hidden by a cluster of trees. They sat down on the mat Ariadne brought, the snow was still piling on the floor and attaching to the nearby trees and to their faces. “I don’t think it’s a suitable time for a picnic” Rosalie whispered. Ariadne let a heavy sigh as she hissed, “Merlin, Rosalie! Stop worrying!”. Rosalie shrugged her arms as she said defensively, “What? I’m just saying toda-“

“Oh merlin! I’m not the only one that is hearing those footsteps am I?!” Elizabeth hissed, her head docking under to hide better behind the thick bush. Everyone followed, because her words were truthful. Someone or actually a group of people was approaching them very quick. “YOU CAN’T GET FURTHER AWAY THAN THAT!”. A very familiar voice screamed, Rosalie gasped, her had coming to hide her mouth, what was her father doing here?! She wondered, “What’s the matter?” Elizabeth whispered to her as the laid flat on the cold snowy ground to avoid getting caught.

Rosalie didn’t hear her question due to her heart pounding so loud to the point she could hear it. Elizabeth shook the brunette; successfully gaining her attention, and before she could as her question. A louder yet calmer voice said, “There’s no way, I’m running away from you. Abella”. Rosalie friends inquisitiveness was fed by that voice.

Ariadne peaked from the hill, her eyes landing on a man with white hair. He almost blended in with the snow if it wasn’t for his dark attire. The girl came to her original place as her eyes were expanded to show her shock, her body shook crazily and involuntarily. Her tears ran down her cheeks all within her friends view, Jack desperately tried to calm her down. He couldn’t, the girl was scared to death and nothing was going to fix it. “Dumbledore won’t lose to you. Leave Hogwarts alone!” Zane yelled, his wand extended to Gellert Grindelwald.

The older man chuckled darkly as he turned to face Zane, “Your mother is the most brilliant witch I have ever known” He said to Zane. The blond man continued his story calmly; completed unbothered by Zane wand that was aimed to hex him. “She had two flaws, she was too caring and had people she needed to protect”. Zane defended, “that’s not a flaw, having people to protect worked for her when she duelled Seraphina”. Gellert tutted, his finger pointing at Zane face, “Young man, I’m still talking. You’re just like your mother, except less wise and more impulsive”.

Elizabeth gestured for them to escape the scene and leave to the castle, this was too dangerous. Rosalie stubbornly shook her head, she hissed, “I’m not leaving my father!”. Elizabeth palmed her face as she glared at her and pointed several times to the castle. Rosalie ignored her as she paid attention to the conversation unravelling secrets to her.

“it was your mother that made Dumbledore stop his plans with me, I only let her live because I said so” Gellert said, Rosalie tightened her hand on her mouth. Feeling a gasp on it’s way to make a sound, she swallowed it as she frantically looked at Elizabeth that was pulling her to walk around the trees. Leo helped the blonde by pushing Rosalie, the brunette flailed her arms, smacking them both to let her be. “I had a clever idea to kill her daughter, your older sister but Fida is just sometimes very cautious, don’t you think so? Using a protection spell around the African wizarding world that drains her power as each moment that passes, just so I couldn’t get inside, but look at you, you’re outside the barrier” he pointed at the man with the longer hair, an odd terrifying smirk was on his face.

Ariadne wet face with tears, she pulled Rosalie from both her arms as she hissed, “let’s go, let’s go”. Rosalie snatched her hands away, tears wetting her cheeks as well. she took out her wand as she refused continuously, “No, No”.

“let’s go get some help” Leo hissed, Jack agreeing to his idea as they parted. Rosalie pointed at the trees to where the two boys were heading, “Go” she demanded with a firm tone. Elizabeth sighed with a scared look on her face as she pulled the worried Ariadne with her. Now, it was only Rosalie watching the scene.

Gellert hadn’t took out his wand, but a nearby tree was sliced as it fell in the place Zane was standing at. “I’d usually kill instantly, but, for you Zane. How about we have a little show? I’d feel sorrowful for you to die immediately, you’re a great dueller after all”. Zane was gracefully and hurriedly jumping from a place to place as the high redwood trees fell at different directions, even Rosalie had to avoid some. Which she now knew the importance of running around Uagadou campus, it gave her flexibility and graceful moves like a feline, besides the fact that she was an animagi.

“I heard your daughter is here” Grindelwald said with a strange tone, “I heard she’s a brilliant witch like Fida, since I can’t get to Fida, maybe I should duel he-“

“DON’T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!” Zane screamed, his voice was very familiar to a growl of a lion. He really was a lion through and thorough, Rosalie left hand was still attached to her mouth as her right hand was holding her pretty wand, slightly remembering Riddle words about her wand, she decisively ignored his words that were slowly creeping to her mind, then some sort of words flashed to her mind, specifically words her older self told her once, that Tom Riddle was the one to kill her father and not Gellert Grindelwald. But how did he survive the blond maniac? Rosalie twisted her brain for any possible plan to save her father.

“her mother was a muggle, yes? She was a kind-hearted peasant that worked for that oppressive household, wasn’t she friends with the strange wife of the son to that household?” Grindelwald said, easily dodging the hex from Zane wand. “the wife was a squib, she was Salazar Slytherin descendant, wasn’t she?”.

“Why are you saying all those things when you know they’re right? Trying to scare me? Victoria died 15 years ago!” Zane shouted; his vocal cords slightly sore from the amount of the screams he made. Grindelwald face switched to fake concern, “Of course, I apologize. I hadn’t been honest; I should’ve told you that your daughter is here”. Zane frowned. Beads of sweat forming on his forehead despite the snow the continued to fall. All the colours from the brunette face and body was drained, she remained at her position from under the hill. “Come out! Young Fida! I can hear your teeth cluttering from here! Europe isn’t very suitable to your habitat, is it?”

“Stop trying to fool me, it’s not working” Zane said, his voice slightly wavering due to his rising concern, Grindelwald had the same fake worried look, “Young man, I wish I was fooling you. Your daughter is here after curfew, she wasn’t much of a rule-follower, was she? Rosalie come out! I won’t hurt you! let’s just play hide & seek, your favourite game!”

“Young lady, if you don’t come out. I will have to hunt you myself” The older man said. With those words Rosalie stopped feeling cold, instead she was scared to death as her limps were freezing, yet her abdomen was burning, and she had the urge to puke her guts out. “Your battle is with me!” Zane shouted, desperately trying to gain back Grindelwald terrifying attention, yet the blond simply pointed his wand at him as he was pushed to the cluster of the fallen trees, a lone tree binding him. He kept screaming and swatting his hands around.

“I will count to ten, if I find you. You’re dead!” his tone was very calm, joyful and very foreign to the devious expression on his face. Rosalie slowly walked up the hill, showing her full self to Grindelwald with the increasing sinister smile. “And you’re very brave as well, you must be in Gryffindor”.

“Hufflepuff, actually,” Rosalie said, forcing her hand to stop shaking. Her wand stretched, swishing it slightly to make Grindelwald lose his balance on the snow, he gained his balance quickly. Rosalie wondered if she could step down a little, use dirty tricks to save her father.

“Rosalie! Go!” Zane demanded, “If you do, you will hear news about your father getting slayed first thing in the mornin-“ he couldn’t continue his words, Rosalie swished her wand again, successfully letting him lose his balance this time, she bolted to the tamed man, swishing again to let his binds morph again to the tree as he broke free. “Animagi and Escape!”, Zane screamed. They nodded to each other, “Don’t fight him alone, Papa!”, Rosalie demanded. They both switched to their animagi forms, running in opposite directions.

It was very clear Grindelwald chose to chase the girl, yet his choice in seeking the girl wasn’t very smart. Rocks from above the trees was smacked to his head and body. Ariadne and Elizabeth boldly standing on some of the composed trees. “Take this you loser!” Elizabeth loudly yelling, her hand raising to the sky as she summoned her broomstick, “Take me with you, BETH!” Ariadne yelled, once she saw Grindelwald directed his attention from the panther to the. The blonde complied by offering her hand to Ariadne. The latter jumped behind her, both girls zoomed to the sky, magnificently avoiding Grindelwald hexes to them.

Once the girls appeared to Honeydukes entrance, finding Jack ushering the panther inside the shop. The panther transformed to Rosalie again, she hissed as they pushed her to the basement, “Where is Papa?! Did you guys get some help?! Ooh you crazy lot!”. She unwillingly shed tears that were suppressed till this moment. Hugging Ariadne and Elizabeth, “Just get inside! Leo went to get your father!” Ariadne cried, squeezing Rosalie hand and forcibly pulling her with her to the basement, “No! I have to make sure they’re ok-“

“You idiot! Just go! Trust us!” Elizabeth shouted, her face switching red with rage. Finally, and successfully getting Rosalie inside, locking the door behind her. Ariadne and Rosalie walked the long distance to the campus, “Ari, I’m so scared, what if-“ Rosalie began, a hiccup stopping her from speaking more. “No, No, Leo and Jack made this plan. For merlin’s sake! They solve riddles to get to their common room at least five times a day!” with that, the scared Rosalie was a bit soothed.

When they arrived to the campus, Ariadne pushed Rosalie to go up first, she walked behind her as she stood next to the statue of the hump-backed witch. Her eyes carefully looking around for any sort of unwanted attention and prying looks, Ariadne anxiously bit her nails as she kept on looking through the different hallways to confirm no one was spying. “I thought you were going to get help” Rosalie whispered, Ariadne sighed, very exhausted from tonight unexpected events, “We didn’t want to, he’s mad, that man, he’s going to hurt everyone, besides they would take too long to come out”, Rosalie heart clenched with gratitude, she hugged Ariadne tightly, her tears threatening to fall. She let them free for the first time, willingly. She decided if she would show her vulnerability and tears, it would be to her friends.

After couple minutes, the statue swiped to the left as it revealed Zane head. Rosalie leaped to hug him once he fully unsheathed himself from the small hole. Rosalie cried heavily once she spotted Leo usual flawless face, that had a wound on his right cheek; possibly from a tree branch. All her friends were safe and unharmed, her father hugging her tightly. Her hair getting wet due to his silent tears.

Once the waterworks stopped, even the cold Elizabeth cried. “I’m sorry, guys, this was my mistake, I shouldn’t have suggested to go to a nightly picnic” Ariadne said, her nose and eyes becoming red, she cried a lot. “You shouldn’t have gone to that picnic,” Zane said with a firm voice, his eyes glazing over the ashamed students that hung their heads low. Nevertheless, he grinned, patted each one of their heads, “but thank you, you saved me and this idiot”, he said his last words as he pulled Rosalie under his armpit; giving her a headlock as her furiously messed her hair. The girl groaned and tried to fix her hair.

Their actions to each other was very spontaneous as if they were siblings, Elizabeth asked the question the rest of the lot had but were slightly humiliated to question, “Sir, are you Rosalie father? You look very young”. The young man chuckled, “I met her mother when she was 18 and I was 17. And we got her when I was 19”, they tried their best not to make any sort of a shocked face, yet Elizabeth exposed them, “That’s very young, sir,”.

“Oh, I know. You must be potter” Zane with a proud smile, the blonde raised an eyebrow strangely, “How did you know?”. “Rosalie told me that a girl who was very blunt was a very good friend of her”, Zane replied, roughly patting Rosalie shoulder, Elizabeth blushed as she looked away; hoping to hide her glowing face. Ariadne bounced, “Me? Do you know who am I?”

“Of course, you’re Ariadne and you must be Jack. The bubbly girl and the quiet boy who only talked to Ariadne, I’m giving you my blessings to your relationship” he winked, now it was Ariadne and Jack time to blush and look away. Ariadne hid her face under her hands. Leo fixed his posture, raised his head up high and stroked the prefect badge on his left chest area, he asked, “what abo-“ he was cut by Zane chuckling and saying, “The smart Leo, very clever individual you are”. Leo had a proud grin on his face with a tinge of red on his cheeks.

Zane stared at his right cheek with the red wound, then he offered, “Allow me to heal it for you”. he then flicked his wand and the wound stitched itself then disappeared. “Thank you, kind sir,” Leo thanked. Zane nodded curtly, “I hate to ruin this delightful moment, but the prefects are going to start rounding the area in fifteen minutes” Jack said, Zane agreed, “Yes, you should go to your beds”. The others left after exchanging genuine farewell to the taller man with the long-braided hair, Rosalie remained standing next to him.

“now, promise me you won’t leave Hogwarts at all. Promise me you will stay here”. Zane told his daughter, Rosalie asked with dissatisfaction, “even at winter break? I can’t come home?”. Zane said strictly, “Yes, you will stay here, I will bring Persephone here with the things you asked for”.

The girl gave up once her father gave her a severe look, he was very determined once he put his mind to something. “Dad, could you tell me about mom? I heard you said she worked at a muggle household”, the girl asked, bringing her father to sit at the stoned bench. “please, if you tell me about her I promise I will stay here with no regrets or negative emotions” the brunette begged, her wide eyes that looked almost identical to her mother’s. A chastised, welcoming and a warm look. He couldn’t possibly refuse the look of his daughter.

He gave up with a sigh, “Your mother used to work at a village named Little Hangleton, the villagers weren’t nice to her and she wasn’t treated that nicely at the house her father worked at, he worked as a gardener while she worked as a maid, they lived in a small little cottage very close to the main house” Rosalie vividly imagined a girl that looked like her but with a slightly curlier locks and with a man that looked like someone she thought was fitting to play the role of the father, the tall, charismatic servant at her grandmother castle seemed fitting somehow.

“She was the best at cooking, one day she found me in the forest, I ran away from home because I refused to take the crown. Victoria, she helped me, and I stayed with her and her father for about an year. Your mother was treated very badly by the household she worked for and the villagers. Except this girl, she was very lonely, she was abused by her family on daily basis”. Zane said, Rosalie somehow pictured Eileen prince to play that lonely girl part, really, no one was as lonely as that girl. Rosalie then promised herself she would approach her much better.

“her name was Merope Gaunt, she was Salazar Slytherin heir, but she was a squib, or that’s what her family told her. Merope used to talk with Victoria every single day, they were close friends, the closest of them, Actually. And I often wondered, how? Victoria was very colourful and optimistic; she was very patient even with the horrible treatment and she was a muggle, Merope was a dark and a pessimist, she was very fragile, and she was magical,

“but my questions was answered when Victoria once told me that humans tend to have a special bond with people they had hardships with” Rosalie body visibly shivered, Déjà vu. This was what her older self told her exactly.

“when Victoria and I got married, she left with me to the castle, that’s when your grandma got furious about me marrying a muggle girl. But I threatened her that I will escape again if she tries to do anything to Victoria, and that’s when we had you” Zane said, finally standing up. Rosalie took off her striped scarf and wrapping it around her father’s neck, she grinned sheepishly, “Christmas gift, since we won’t spend it together”

Zane chuckled and messed Rosalie hair again, the girl groaned again as she fixed it. But she was still beaming at him. Before Zane could leave, Rosalie asked, “What about Merope? What happened to her after you both left? And why didn’t you take her with you?”. Zane narrowed his eyes as he tried his best to remember what happened to that depressed woman.

He made a noise of recollection, “She strangely got married to the son of the house your mother used to work at, he was very arrogant that git, and we couldn’t take her because her father and brother refused, the gave me this scar because I tried to forcibly take her with us, she was very depressed there. We had to do something”, he pointed at the scar at his upper forehead, very close to his hairline. It was only discoloured that was the size of a medium sized glass bead.

“and what’s stranger, after your mother knew she was pregnant with you; she wanted her best friend to be there with her; letters weren’t enough. And Merope stopped sending owls suddenly. When we searched for her, we found out that the git divorced her claiming they weren’t compatible. He kicked her out of the house on a cold December night, and till this day I couldn’t find her” Zane said, tugging the striped scarf to hide his jaw. Rosalie sighed, “Papa, we have to find her, she’s Mama close friend”.

“I know, dear, I’m still searching for her, the furthest I found out that she was pregnant. I still remember the amount of punches I gave to that git when I figured” Zane said. Rosalie gasped, empathizing deeply to the depressed woman, her hand clutching a fistful of her robes. Her hatred to the man that left his wife and unborn child growing hysterically. “Good night, dear” Zane said, hugging his petite daughter one last time.

The girl hiccupped again as a tear rolled down, she wiped it quickly and forced a smile on her face. “B-B-Bye” she said with a wave. Then, Zane walked down the corridor after casting a disillusionment spell on himself. However, Zane and Rosalie forgot to notice one pair of prying eyes and ears that caught to each word they said. And they belonged to the good-looking Tom Marvolo Riddle.

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Dears!!! I've received lots and lots of love in the past days and Kudos. It's making me soft and giving me so much motivation to write that even the best Tom Riddle pictures/fan arts couldn't give me! T^T 

Thank you so much for supporting me! I love all your sweet comments, it means so much to me :D I promise I will be a better author and post lots and lots of updates <3 


	7. Chapter 5: Lesson learned.

Chapter 5: Lesson learned.

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Chapter 5:

The next morning which happened to be on a snowy Sunday. The group that witnessed last night events looked worn-out the most, with deep cark circles under their eyes that showed they didn’t get much sleep. On a magnificent contrast to the other students, especially the first years with their glowing faces and happy talks after finally attending Hogwarts special Halloween celebration.

Elizabeth finally shut the book on her hand, she watched Rosalie and Leo sitting Infront of her as they were sleepily writing something on parchment. “This so boring, let’s go do something fun”. Leo didn’t raise his head from his work, he just blankly said, “out of us three, you are the one that should do her work now or you will fail Potions”. Elizabeth rolled her eyes then defended, “Rosalie is bad at it too, plus I can just copy from you”

“Sure, I dare you to try” Leo said with a shrug of his shoulders, his eyes still glued to the parchment as he wrote flawlessly on it. As they had their small argument, Rosalie was thinking about her mother’s friend. What happened to that woman, did she possibly die? Rosalie asked, her eyes getting watery with just the small thought of Merope dying with the unborn child, “Guys, picture yourself pregnant and you got kicked out of your husband house, where would you go?” Rosalie questioned both her friends, her eyes tracing their responses.

Leo was slightly repulsed, his voice becoming offended, “You do realise I’m a full-grown male, do you?”. Elizabeth laughed to her sleeve as she hid her face, her laugh was filled with mockery, Rosalie quickly apologised, “I’m sorry, you know what I mean, just picture it, like imagine what you’d do”. Leo shook his head as he scoffed then looked at a different book. Rosalie sighed then watched Elizabeth compose herself for an answer, “I’d probably go back to my parents’ house”.

Rosalie dismissed her answer with a wave to the air and explained, “But your family is abusive!” a group shush from the surrounding students attacked the girl loud voice, she lowered her voice and hissed, “What would you do?”. Elizabeth narrowed her eyes in deep thought, then she replied to the girl urging eyes, “I’d get a job to support myself, that’s if in that situation I didn’t have money”.

Rosalie nodded, then inquired, “What if you weren’t good at anything?”. Elizabeth joined her hands together, “Honestly, I’d probably just give up on life and commit suicide with pride so cruel people don’t use my poor situation to make me do stuff for them”. Elizabeth said her words very calmly, completely unaware to Rosalie increasing concern that was clear on her face, the brunette slapped the table roughly ad yelled, “NO!”. she received a louder hush, a hard glare from madam Pince; the librarian.

Rosalie hissed again with a lower voice, “no! you can’t do that”. Elizabeth smacked the girl with the red scarf sitting next to her, “You asked me what I’d do and that’s my answer!” Elizabeth whispered. Rosalie shook her head and brought her eyes again to her book. Leo tried to calm down the disappointed girl by replying, “Hypothetically speaking, if I was in that situation,” Rosalie watched him carefully, Leo irrepressibly reddened then pushed his glasses up his nose. “I’d sell everything I had, except my attire of course. Get the money and find somewhere cheap to lay low”. Rosalie sighed with relief, pointing at Leo with her right hand, she told Elizabeth, “See? This is what you should do,”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes then said, “Agh, shut it, it’s not even real”. Rosalie felt sorrow fill her heart, the situation was true. But she felt a little better after hearing Leo. “Hello everyone” Ariadne greeted, setting her books on the table, the trio made simple gestures; acknowledging her presence. “why don’t you ask her what she’d do? I bet you she’d do the same as me” Elizabeth told Rosalie. The brunette tilted her head in confusion as she watched Rosalie, “What would you do if you were pregnant then your husband kicked you out and you’re not good at anything”.

Ariadne said simply, “I’d ask for help, explain my situation and hopefully when I’m well I’d support myself”, Elizabeth palmed her cheek in frustration, then opened the closed book she shut before. Now, Rosalie had three possible outcomes.

Tom narrowed his eyes from between the bookshelves, the previous conversation of Rosalie and her father still lingering through his mind. He purposefully tried to toss it out of his mind. So, what? What if that idiot mother was friends with my own mother? He tried to convince himself it was useless and a waste of time to think about it, besides, he had much more important things to worry about. Horcrux, what was that? And why was it in the book about dark immortality?

He had to figure it out quickly, especially after finding out about the chamber of secrets. For the first time, he felt slightly proud to be his mother son, even if she was imprudent to marry a muggle and to befriend a muggle. “Riddle”, a voice called, Tom turned around to look at Orion Black, “When is the first meeting for the deat-“ Tom, clicked his tongue. Instantly stopping Orion from speaking more. Tom leaned closer to him and hissed, “Don’t you ever dare to talk about it with people around”. Orion looked to the floor, very ashamed.

Tom backed away, he said with a raised chin, “It starts whenever I say so,”. He said, then turned to exit the library. Just when he walked out, he saw Rosalie and her friends walk out the same time as him. Rosalie casted him a strange look, she then looked away. He passed them, very doubtful to the girl looks, it was as if she knew something he didn’t. And he didn’t like it very much.

The same thing happened at Dinner time, Rosalie kept looking at him. She only snapped out of it when her loud friend shook her shoulder violently. The third time she kept staring at him was at Potions, she didn’t snap out of it at all, she kept staring until the class ended. It made Tom wonder if she was using legilimency on him. So, the minute the class finished he approached her, “Could I talk to you in private?”, Tom asked her. Ariadne and Sierra exchanging some sort of a shocked look. The girl nodded as she waited with him until the two girls left, Eileen Prince fled the class the minute the class ended.

It was just them, when he asked, “Why are you looking at me like that” he demanded hardly, Rosalie simply said, “like what?”. Tom was on the verge of losing his nerves from her attitude, pretending as if she had no idea what he meant. Hufflepuffs were clueless, but not that stupid, he told himself. “answer me,”. Rosalie eyes never left his own, not even for half a moment. “I just like you, that’s all” her reply was an obvious lie, very foolish one. “Liar”.

Rosalie shook her head slightly and said, “then don’t believe me, excuse me, I have class”, she pushed him away as she walked out of the Potions classroom. Tom decided to test his theory about her using legilimency the next time she looks at him.

* * *

Rosalie practically ran to Dumbledore office, knocking on the fancy door when she reached it. She didn’t wait for an answer to open it. “Is Persephone here?! Is she here?!” the girl squealed, Dumbledore smiled at the girl as he pointed at the left shelves, few parcels sat on his desk. Rosalie looked at the left third shelf, where her white half-kneazel sat, she opened her arms wide for the giant cat to jump at. She hugged her tightly as she brushed her white hairy fur. The cat meowed angelically despite her slightly ugly appearance, with her flat face and wide yellow eyes that looked bone-chilling.

“Don’t forget to take your parcels, Abella”, Dumbledore told the overjoyed girl, Rosalie nodded and levitated the three small parcels with a slight flick of her hand, “how are you enjoying your classes so far?” Dumbledore questioned, Rosalie grinned and replied, “I enjoy each day and all classes,”. Dumbledore noticed her wanting to leave his office, so he nodded for her curtly. Which the girl instantly fled out, she ran around the campus, with Persephone securely embraced in her arms and chest. When Rosalie reached the great hall, she trotted to where Elizabeth was sitting. She thrusted the cat to her face, “this is Persephone!” Rosalie introduced, Elizabeth swiped her face away from the hair cat and sneezed, she then looked at the horrid giant cat, “merlin, that’s one ugly cat, doesn’t it blink?”

Rosalie had an offended face, she scoffed, “Persephone is NOT ugly, she’s gorgeous, don’t listen to her love”. The cat meowed to the excited owner, “Anyways, what’s in those?”, Elizabeth gestured at the floating brown parcels, Rosalie told the blonde as she took a seat next to her, “some of my clothes that I forgot to take, a photo album and some books,”.

Elizabeth opened the first that was slightly larger than the rest, her eyes landed on different coloured fabrics with exceptional patterns. “these suit you much more, than the dark robes”. She handed her a yellow silk dress, “Uagadou uniforms are coloured, but Hogwarts robes are sophisticated and pretty, they’re both uniquely pretty”

Elizabeth stood up as she stuffed the dresses back inside the parcel,”please tell me you didn’t forget my Quidditch match”, Rosalie stood with her as well, she reassured, “of course not, it’s the match where some of your team members will get the brilliant chance to join the national team”, Elizabeth sighed in relief, quickly hugging Rosalie and pressing the giant cat between them briefly. “Ro, I love you. Ariadne and Leo completely forgot about it; Leo even made plans. Are you sure you’re going to cheer for me?”

Rosalie chuckled and nodded, Minerva came rushing to the two girls, she hissed to the blonde, “Where have you been, Potter?! The match starts in less than twenty minutes!”, Elizabeth ignored Minerva, she questioned Rosalie again with nervous features, her usual calm and cold-hearted face expression was long gone, “You’re coming?”. The brunette smiled and turned Elizabeth to face the rageful Quidditch captain; Minerva, “Of course I will come! I will even wear the Gryffindor mascot, so you notice me”. Elizabeth reluctantly let Minerva pull her towards the changing rooms, when the disappeared. Rosalie casted the same spell to make her parcels float behind her, she held onto Persephone tightly; and the lazy cat didn’t seem to mind at all.

Rosalie took the shorter way to the Hufflepuff dorms, the castle looking slightly deserted; everyone were at the stadium to guarantee the best seats. Even professor Slughorn held onto his big belly and ran to the stadium. Rosalie sighed in relief when she saw the barrels of Hufflepuff greeting her with their polished look, she made a mental plan to quickly knock them, drop the boxes then transform the plain red paper sitting on her nightstand to a huge lion that roars each time the Gryffindors gained points.

However, Rosalie smile immediately fell when she saw Tom. He came from behind the hidden corridor that lead to the dungeons, He approached Rosalie, “You don’t look happy to see me,”. Rosalie recuperated back her poise, she gave him a curt smile, “I’m sorry, you just surprised me, that’s all”, His face was still expressionless, Rosalie said, “If you excuse me, I’m pretty busy right now,”. When she tried to walk past him, he blocked her. Rosalie frowned, then repeated, “I’m very busy right now”.

“Let’s start learning wandless magic,” Tom said, Rosalie asked doubtfully, “right now?”. Tom agreed to her words, Rosalie forced a shocked chuckle, “I don’t know if you understand me, I said I’m busy, it means I don’t have time for you, Riddle” She said his last name with rising rage. Tom smirked, his eyes looking sharply at her as if he was enjoying making her angry, “You said you will do anything as I say, this is my first order,”

Rosalie could swear her heart almost stopped at his words, “you shall not go to the match, you will stay here and learn wandless magic from me”. Rosalie gulped, crossed her arms, “You will be joking yourself if you think I will surrender myself to you”. Tom face was painted with thick sarcasm, “Abella, I’m not joking, it is the truth, did you forget how you told me you would do anything to earn my forgiveness?”. Rosalie sighed heavily, she unravelled her arms as she deeply thought about it.

He will be the future terrorist, she had stop him by gaining his trust. Learning magic with him is the key. But what about Elizabeth? She will be very upset if she didn’t see any of her friends there to cheer for her, to witness the start of her bright future as a talented Quidditch player in the national team.

Tom snapped his fingers infront of her face, “this is not a matter to think deeply about, if I say so then it is my way”. Rosalie have to restrain herself from punching him, she let the floating parcels lay gently on the floor, Persephone had the time of her life as she twirled around the boxes. Rosalie took the books from it, giving it to Tom. “I will put these inside”, Tom didn’t say anything, yet, he didn’t refuse. It’s not like Rosalie will listen to him anyway. Persephone stayed out, her pressed face was sharply examining the handsome Riddle.

When Rosalie came out again, looking more miserable than ever. She cursed her past naïve self, if she hadn’t agreed to his previous words that night after Astronomy class, then she will be attending Elizabeth match, she will be cheering for her louder than anyone else. Rosalie asked, “Where are we going?”. Tom answered pridefully, “Somewhere I discovered, if you tell anyone about, I will make sure to end you”. Rosalie scoffed, he could never.

They walked out of the basement and up to the first floor where not one soul was heard or seen. Except the few ghosts that roamed to the gazebo facing the stadium. The sight of ghosts looking out the window broke Rosalie heart even more, they get to see it. And she wasn’t able to support her friend. Rosalie was sure that Leo and Ariadne were just joking with Elizabeth. It was the start of her career, no one will ever be able to make plans on that day or forget about it.

Rosalie resulted to glare at Tom Riddle back. They were going up and up until they stopped at the seventh floor, walking across the wide corridor that turned narrow at the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. It widened again. Tom stopped and glanced at Rosalie, she didn’t take off her glare, she’s mad at him and she wasn’t going to hide it. “Stop here,” he ordered, Rosalie crossed her arms and watched him walk back and forth, really, he looked very silly.

She hid her smile, it reminded her of the time when Canna tried to take trip her, but she failed and ended up falling on her own leg, completely dislocating it that they had to grow a whole another bone for it. She looked very silly. She had no excuse to justify how she was injured. Rosalie memories snapped. Seeing a door form at the once empty wall. Tom walked inside; Rosalie followed him. Her eyes darting to look at the big room. It was a plain room, with a wide mahogany table at the corner, a circular window with filthy glass was facing the table.

Very minimalistic and only to serve one purpose, to learn. Rosalie asked, approaching the table, “What is this room? Is it a secret room of some sort?”. Tom raised his chin with pride swallowing him whole again, “I discovered it first, I call it the room of requirements”. Rosalie gave a polite nod, sitting the heavy old books on the polished table, “So, how does it work?”.

“You imagine what you desire, then the room will form into it,” Tom answered, snatching the first book from the pile. It was about wandless magic basics, things Rosalie already perfected. “I have to say, your imaginative skills are very rough”. Tom gave her a hard stare, Rosalie shrugged her shoulder and raised her eyebrows at him. He flipped through the book at a quick pace, then he shut it and chucked it to the table. He set his wand on the table.

Rosalie had to admit, it was a terrifying wand. The white handle that looked as if it was a dagger. It twisted tightly around the handle before it straightened again. Tom did a certain hand gesture, raising his hand to point at the book, he said, “supernatet”, the book floated gracefully at the air. He then pointed at the window, “prope”. The dark curtains shut proximately. Rosalie was very impressed, he perfected it from the first time in very quick skimming to the book.

Tom, finally turned to face Rosalie, “now, what is your current level”, She pointed at the newest book, it wasn’t looking worn out like the rest, Tom did a quick spell to duplicate the book, it was wandless. It made Rosalie wonder if he was a natural brilliant? How come he did them flawlessly from the first time and she had to practice to do so.

“Did you learn the disarming spell?” He asked, flipping through the pages. Rosalie hummed in agreement. He asked again, “The Confringo curse?”. Rosalie finally shook her head. Tom shut the book again, “We will start with that today, I doubt you will learn it quickly” He said, his eyes looking at her as if she was a bug to be stepped at. Rosalie nose flared with anger, clamed down herself, You can punch him another time, She promised herself. Gain his trust then punch him as much as you want.

Tom lifted his hand, tucked his thumb under his index, “You do this, then point at the object you want to bomb”. The girl nodded, mimicked his gesture, pointed near his shoes, she said powerfully, “Confringo!” the floor exploded, it was a bigger blast to the point some cobblestone remains shot to the sky, Rosalie grinned and said, “I’m not as slow as you may think”.

Tom gave her a strange look, he looked away and opened the book, “Then, now to the real learning”, Rosalie gave him a slight nod. Maybe he wasn’t that bad. She wondered if she judged him too quickly and didn’t see things from his point of view. Persephone twirled around her feet as she meowed delicately, Rosalie then thought about her friends. What would she tell them?

* * *

It was a slightly long lesson, it was excruciating. Tom had the thinnest patience, if he perfected the spell in less than a minute. He would huff or shake his head in denial when Rosalie successes in it in a longer time. It reminded her a little bit of Leo, that did the same exact thing in class. She despised that trait in both of them. So, when Tom stated that this was it. Rosalie quickly gathered her books, and her white cat followed her closely. Tom walked next to her, whether it was intentional or not was very ambiguous.

“That was a good lesson, thank you,” Rosalie said, smoothing out the air. Tom agreed with a single shake of his head. His head was held high as usual, his shoulders to the back and his hands intertwined behind him. When the sounds of students was heard, Tom offered, “Let me help you with those”, his hands motioning to the pile of books on her chest. Rosalie rolled her eyes, she said, “Stop trying to maintain your good boy image with me, it’s not working”. Tom raised an eyebrow, his hand roughly pulling few books his way, “How so?”.

The girl let him take them, she counted on her left hand, “You’re mean to me, you degrade me and you think I’m stupid”. Loud steps were heard coming their way, but the owner wasn’t physically visible to them yet. “I don’t think you’re stupid anymore,” Tom said, his voice lowering a bit as if he was ashamed of telling her that. Rosalie stopped walking, a big smile on her face, “Really?!” she asked, and before she could gain an answer.

Olive Hornby loud steps were approaching them, and she was finally perceptible. She said angrily, “Where have you been?!” her question was directed to the brunette, she frowned and asked cluelessly, “Who are you?”. The blonde scoffed, she flipped her hair and said, “I’m Olive Hornby, Leo sister, the guy you’re dating?” her eyes swiped to look at Tom, she then said, “Or you cheated on with,”. Rosalie fist clenched, “Excuse me?! I am not dating Leo and I certainly wasn’t cheating on anyone!”. Olive, eyes widened at Rosalie loud voice, she yelled back, “Then why were you with him?! Were you leading Leo?!”, Rosalie exhaled sharply, she calmed herself down a bit, Tom face was expressionless as usual, his features enigmatic more than ever. “I was not leading him, I told him countless times that I don’t like him! I only see him as a friend and nothing more!”

Olive index came to push Rosalie chest as she said, “Oh really? I know exactly what to do with inferiority li-“ before she could finish her words, Tom said, “10 points off Ravenclaw”. Olive face twitched with anger, she crossed her arms as she looked at Rosalie, “See? And this is all your faul-“ Rosalie punched her straight on her nose, to the point a slight creak sound was heard; her nose was broken. Olive held her nose as she cried and ran to the opposite way.

“10 points off Hufflepuff”, Tom said, his voice very quiet and the shock was evident on his handsome face, the girl sighed and mumbled, “Doesn’t matter,” They resumed their walk to the other side of the castle to reach the stairs. The air very thick from what just happened, and Tom didn’t find anything to say, Rosalie looking very uninterested to start a conversation. And for once their spots were swapped.

When they reached the stairs, the whole school was on chaos. Student running around and shouting gibberish, Professors chasing them to force each group to go to their houses, “What the hell is going on?!” Rosalie screamed, trying to get her voice heard above the chaos happening and the loud noise, Tom looked around him, he held the arm of a first year Gryffindor, he asked him bluntly, “What’s the matter?” The first year said quickly, “The match was terrible, Two players were heavily injured and a mole was found amongst the students! She was unknowingly helping Grindelwald!” He then escaped, Rosalie heart was beating so fast, what if Elizabeth was one of the injured students?

The girl pushed through the students, completely forgetting her books with Riddle and her clueless cat with him. Tom gazed at the cat, then sighed, “Your owner is quite forgetful” he said, Persephone climbed his robes, sitting on the books. “And you’re quite lazy”. Meanwhile, Rosalie harshly pushed the students away from her way after countless of meaningless apologies. She was yanked back, Rosalie angrily turned to face the person, her fist ready for another punch, “Why were you with Riddle?! Why didn’t you come see the match!” Sierra yelled, Rosalie shook her head, she didn’t have any meaningful lies, studying with him? It didn’t make any sense, a match that will determine her friend future was much more important. She had to help a teacher with him? Nonsense, all the teachers attended the match, even headmaster Dippet.

Sierra rolled her eyes, “never mind, just come with me to the Hospital wing”. Rosalie whole figure chilled. Nevertheless, she followed Sierra. The trip felt extremely long especially with Rosalie scolding herself and making her soul feel worse than how she’s currently feeling. “I just can’t find any reason for you to bail such an important game to go with Riddle!” Sierra said, looking much furious than before, “what’s making me worried is that you’re not defending yourself!”. Sierra said, pushing the twin doors to the Hospital wing to the front. She hurried to a bed with blue fabric dividers. Leo tall frame visible from behind it, Ariadne cries were heard. Rosalie feet feeling very heavy, she wasn’t able to go much further. Was Elizabeth injured that badly? Thankfully, Sierra pulled her and they reached the bed.

“Rosalie!” Leo hissed, coming closer to her. The girl suddenly vividly remembered punching his younger sister. And she felt worse, guilt poached her heart. She was officially the worst human in this whole universe. Providentially, he didn’t mutter any word. He just looked at her with worry filling his face. On the other hand, Ariadne gave her a nasty look. She came to her and violently shook her shoulder, “Why didn’t you come?! She’s been searching for you the whole time!” Ariadne forcefully pushed the petite girl to the hidden bed.

A figure with her limbs and face wrapped with bandages, the only thing that was obvious was the blonde hair that belonged to Elizabeth Potter, Her Gryffindor scarf sitting neatly on the foot of the bed. Rosalie held onto the fabric divider for emotional support, she closed her eyes tightly and told herself not to shed the caged tears. Yet, the impetuous tears rolled down her cheeks. She looked away from the scene, she needed to calm herself down. Now.

Ariadne couldn’t read the que, she said harshly, “She wasn’t focusing on the game! Only because she was looking for you between the crowds! And where have you been?! Definitely not there to support a friend!”. Leo defended, “Stop” he said sharply, Ariadne glared at him as well. “She was fraternizing with Riddle,” a familiar nasal voice said, they turned to look at Olive. Her nose looking normal again.

“Riddle?! Really?!” Ariadne shot her head to question Rosalie, the girl was quiet. She had nothing to say. Tell them what? Tell them she was trying to get closer to him to save humanity? “no, that’s not true. Olive, stop lying”. Olive argued, “It’s true! Look at her! She’s not denying it!”. Sierra said slowly, “I saw her walking with Riddle,”

“I was with him, but I was not doing what you think!” Rosalie hissed, her voice not helping her at all. But, not one soul was on her side. Everyone around her were sending her judgemental looks. And she was once again fighting along.

* * *

The other student who was injured is Minerva McGonagall, Please let me know what you think about this chapter :D I love reading your comments and seeing what you think <3 Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter just as much as I enjoyed writing it :) 


	8. Chapter 6: Truth & reality.

Chapter 6: Truth & reality

* * *

Chapter 6:

Silence echoed through the Hospital wing, Madam Poppy quick steps were the only noise that cut the heavy atmosphere. Ariadne glare to Rosalie was even heavier, “Leave,” she said, her finger raising to point at the gate. Rosalie feet remained planted to the floor, “You have no right to tell me what to do,” Rosalie said, Leo stared at the ground then backed away from Rosalie; as if she was some type of a virus. Olive noted her brother behaviour, she urged further, “Why were you leading my brother into thinking you liked him?”

Rosalie shook her head in disbelief, “I told you once and I will tell you twice, I never liked Leo in that way, and never will! so shut it and don’t test me!”. Olive defended her self with both arms and asked with a fake concerned tone, “will you punch me again?”, her simple words made the matter more complicated, Leo lifted his head to look at Rosalie and before he could say anything Rosalie said strongly, “playing the victim? Don’t flatter yourself, did you forget about Myrtle Warren? The girl you routinely hex into her skin the word ‘mudblood’ “. Olive looked away in shame when Leo gave her a questioning look. Sierra reminded, “What about you? Bailing such an important game to have a little date with-“

“I AM NOT DATING RIDDLE!” Rosalie screamed on top of her lungs. This was the last straw for Madam Poppy that came rushing to them, she said repeatedly, “Go out!”, pushing Rosalie and Sierra since they were the closest to her, Rosalie feet were stuck to the ground, she gave a hard stare to Ariadne and Leo before she pivoted on her heel to leave the Hospital wing. One thought was on her mind, Hogwarts wasn’t home.

Rosalie had no idea where to go, it was past seven in the evening. She finally decided to go to the Astronomy tower, it was most definitely empty with no soul to disturb her. She needed to cry her heart out, she didn’t want anyone to see her. Remembering the time she cried on Ariadne arms made her shudder with disbelief, how come she trusted someone to see her vulnerable? When Ariadne or any of her so called friends refused to believe her. Fida words were right, at the end she will have to fight alone.

In addition to that, why was she the one to love Tom? Why was she the one with her regretful self to ruin her past beautiful life? With a lovely grandmother and a wonderful father that loved her unconditionally? Why was she so stupid to let her emotions get in the way? And why did her stupid future self throw away her life with her family to go with a man? With Rosalie deep thoughts and hatred filling her heart about her fate, she only noticed she reached the tower when a cold snowflake landed on her cheek. She wiped it away and sat on the snow filled gazebo. She didn’t care if the cold snow seeped through her robes. That was the least of her problems. With that, she cried. She cried sorrowfully and miserably.

By the time she was done, her whole robes were wet with the melting snow. She quickly stood up and took of her robes, the cold air hit her bare skin mercilessly. “I have to say, you do cry a lot”, Rosalie turned with shock to face Tom Riddle, one of her several problems and mistakes. He held onto Persephone and the mountain of her heavy books, it made her remember that she completely forgot that she had a cat and belongings. He tried to put down the white cat at the snow, but it hissed and clung onto his robes. He heaved a sigh, then gave Rosalie a look that meant it was her fault. It was alright, everything was her fault anyways. This simple scene made her frown crack and a small smile cracked on her lips.

She opened her arms for Persephone to jump in. However, the half-kneazel looked away as she licked her paw. “Seems like she doesn’t want you anymore,” Riddle said, Rosalie chuckled shortly. A small smile still on her lips as she said, “thank you for bringing her and these”, she pointed at the books with her index, her hand coming to rest awkwardly on her sides. Tom offered, “Would you like me to walk you to your dorm?”, She strongly wanted to refuse, this will just deepen everyone assumptions if they saw her. “You really have no choice, your cat refuses to go with you” He explained, Rosalie finally agreed.

The walk was possibly one of the many uncooperative situations in her occurrences, “The next lesson will be tomorrow at the same time, same place” Tom said, Rosalie gave him a curt nod and stayed silent. When they finally reached the Hufflepuff barrels, Rosalie opened her arms to take in the stubborn cat. Tom even helped her by pushing Persephone to her, the cat hissed and fought adamantly. Rosalie sighed and asked him hopefully, “Why don’t you just keep her with you, only for tonight?”

Tom scoffed, “You must be out of your mind, I, very much don’t like cats,”. When the fight looked even more impossible to win, Rosalie said, “let’s just put her on the floor, hopefully she will come to me”. Tom pulled his arms to himself, letting the cat fall on all four. Rosalie heart almost stopped at how mercilessly he dropped Persephone, “That was mean!”. Tom didn’t pay too much care to her words, only pointed at her miserable cat that finally gave in and started twirling around Rosalie legs. He pushed half of her books to her, “I’m taking those,” he shortly said, before he can leave. Rosalie said, “Thank you!”, her voice echoed through the isolated corridors.

Tom raised an eyebrow doubtfully, he asked, “For?”. The brunette said sincerely, “For teaching me, for bringing my things to me and for not asking why I was crying”. She counted on her left hand, just like how she counted the previous hour. Tom had a foreign look on his face, he quickly said, “it was an agreement between us, and I brought you your cat because I don’t like these creatures. And I didn’t ask because I genuinely do not care,”. Somehow, with his cold-hearted words. Rosalie didn’t feel bad. She said gently, “Please…always be like this, very clear and so, you…”, for the second time that day, Tom was once again surprised by Rosalie Abella.

Rosalie was thankful that when she arrived to the dorms, everyone was sleeping, she really didn’t have any energy left to argue or explain herself. And she lost hope that they will ever believe her without questioning anything. She had to admit, having friends to accompany her and have lovely times together, it was too good to be true. Things had to come to an end somehow. So, when Rosalie woke up early like her routine, she finished everything very quickly. So as to not meet anyone. Ariadne was a heavy sleeper and she often woke up slightly late. Sierra woke up thirty minutes before class.

It was a Wednesday morning, it was very gloomy with the clouds hiding any possible entrance for the sunrays. The snow thickened on the floor. Days like this made Rosalie miss Uagadou even more, It was warm and she had people that loved her there. The great hall was moderately empty, few students from different houses sat there. Eileen Prince sat on the Slytherin table, looking as gloomy as today’s weather, if not, even more miserable. Rosalie decided she will approach her, Eileen wasn’t a welcoming type at all and she always had snarky remarks up her sleeve. It was fine. It was harmless.

Eileen hadn’t noticed Rosalie figure shadowing her, she was absent-mindedly spooning the savoury porridge on her plate. “Good morning, Prince”, Rosalie said, taking a seat next to Eileen. The latter gave her a horrified look, “What do you want?!” She asked, Rosalie raised her hands defensively, “I just wanted to comfort you, you look very down”, Eileen looked back to her plate, she said, “I don’t want your comfort, besides, you should be cursing me”. Rosalie frowned and said, “Why? You didn’t do anything to harm me,”. Eileen heaved a sigh and lifted her eyes to watch the brunette, “I did”.

Rosalie heart hammered, why did Eileen look like she committed the worst case ever? “I was going to confess to the headmaster so I can just get expelled from this horrid school” Eileen added, she stood up hastily from her seat, Rosalie followed her, “Expelled?! You can’t possibly do something that bad!”. Eileen ignored her words, as she made up her head to walk to Headmaster Dippet to confess her terrible crime as she said. “And harmed me?! Eileen! I assure you I wasn’t harmed at all since I started school here!”. Eileen turned to face Rosalie sharply, she lowered her voice as she said, “Grindelwald! He came to Hogsmeade couple days ago because I told him you were here,”.

Realisation hit Rosalie like a storm, her thoughts swirled around like a tornado. It all made sense, no one knew she was at Hogwarts. “I am sorry” Eileen whispered, she turned to walk away. Rosalie held onto her arm as she asked, “How did you manage to communicate with him? Even Dumbledore couldn’t!”, she hissed her last words when few students walked past them. Eileen sighed and answered, “I didn’t exactly talk to him, but this woman, she told me she works for witch weekly…”

“she told me if I tell her Hogwarts secrets, she will pay me, I told her few weeks ago that a princess studies with us, somehow she linked the dots and knew it was you,” Eileen finally finished, looking extremely guilty. “but, that doesn’t make any sense, how did you know I was the heir and not Canna?”, Rosalie asked. The raven haired girl looked more guilty as she said, “I put it together, it turned out to be right when I heard Meadows talking about you,”.

Rosalie gave a sharp exhale, she then scanned Eileen guilty features. “I have a better idea,”. Eileen rolled her eyes and said quickly, “if you’re going to demand benefits from me just so I don’t get expelled, I rather get expelled” Eileen said, crossing her arms and listening intently; realising Rosalie didn’t have that intention, “Only three requests, first is to tell my friends I was with you the day of the match, second, you will let me inside the Slytherin dorms anytime, third, be my friend”, Eileen looked repulsed by the last requests, she sighed and agreed, she pressured further, “Friends? Abella, are you insane?”

“why? I think we both need some company,” Rosalie said, Eileen rolled her eyes, “no, I don’t need company, and, did you see us? We’re the total opposite!” She slightly stomped her feet, pointing at their different figures with diverse self-portrayal. Rosalie sighed then said, “What about the other requests? Does that mean you agree on them?”, Eileen narrowed her eyes at the wall as she deeply thought about it, “If I let you inside the Slytherin dorm I will face lots of problems, However, telling your friends that you were with me because I forced you to study potions…”, Eileen then shrugged her shoulders, “I wasn’t even at that game so they may believe it,”.

“about letting me inside the Slytherin dorms, let’s do it when there’s classes, no one will know”, Rosalie suggested, Eileen agreed, they shook hands to seal their agreement, “breakfast?”, Rosalie asked with a grin. “no,” Eileen said shortly, walking back to the great hall. Rosalie sighed, it will take a lot for Eileen to warm up to her. For now, she will visit Elizabeth at the Hospital wing and hope for the best after putting a respectful and a believable lie with witnesses. Just saying Tom was walking her through the castle because she was lost was a good lie.

It was fine, it’s a white lie. It won’t ruin anything, she will apologize to Ariadne for overreacting. And she will even apologize to Olive for punching her. When Rosalie entered the Hospital wing, which was luckily lit and Madam Pomfrey voice; scolding someone was heard. Rosalie walked confidently to Elizabeth bed, which the nurse voice was increasing as she tried to force the blonde to rest. “Potter! You listen to me this instant!” the nurse shouted, when Rosalie looked to the other side, she found Minerva McGonagall silently chuckling at the scene that was hidden from Rosalie eyes by the blue fabric screen, “How are you feeling?” Rosalie asked the red-haired girl. Minerva sighed as her smile instantly flipped to a frown, “it’s very much not nice to have your dream taken away from you,”.

Rosalie looked to the floor, ashamed, Minerva noticed that. She explained quickly, “it’s not what you think! I’m very embarrassed to say it was entirely my fault, actually, if that bludger hit my leg I would’ve lost it, if it wasn’t for Potter”. Rosalie narrowed her eyes, raising an eyebrow, she asked, “I thought Elizabeth was distracted and you saved her from the bludger…?”, Minerva shook her head, “I heard what Meadows told you, I assure you, that’s not it. It was the other way around, actually.”. Rosalie had to hold onto the metallic bed railing for support as she gave a hard sigh of relief, “for real? You’re not saying this to make me feel better, are you?”. Minerva looked away with a blush coating her cheeks to admit it was her fault. However, she said bravely, “Yes, I should’ve paid more attention”.

“Rose!” a very unfamiliar voice yelled, it was high-pitched. When the said girl turned to look at Elizabeth that came running to embrace her, it was a very surprising action. Rosalie thought Elizabeth would get angry and will want to cut her friendship with her. She whined childishly, “Why didn’t you come to the game? I was very sad when Ari told me you weren’t there!”. It was very unusual to Elizabeth ordinary voice and attitude, the nurse snatched Elizabeth from her collar, “What in MERLIN’S world, did I give a POTTER an adrenaline potion?!”, Elizabeth pouted, flailing her limps in the air, “Leave me be! I want to go with Rosalie!”.

“miss Abella, LEAVE!” the nurse ordered, Rosalie left quickly with a sincere happy smile on her lips; Elizabeth and Minerva were alright. And as selfish as this sounded, she was glad it wasn’t her fault. Things started to clear a bit from her foggy day. And for once, she learned to love the humid freeze of this November day. Nevertheless, few thoughts never left her mind. How did Ariadne know she was the heir when she never told her before, and why did Ariadne lie about how Elizabeth got injured.

Her questions were shortly, but very vaguely answered. It was Charms, Shared with the Gryffindors. Rosalie wasn’t sure if she should sit at her usual place, squished between Ariadne and Sierra. It was alright. Sally, their roommate sat on her seat, Rosalie took this as a silent way to change her usual place. Changing her seat was alright, but the nasty looks she received from Ariadne and Sierra were on another level. After class, she approached them, “Hey!”, Rosalie greeted quickly, her best smile on her face. The two girls visibly rolled their eyes, Rosalie hugged her books tighter to her chest; a way to pacify her racing heart. “I’m sorry”, she said genuinely.

“I heard about how Elizabeth got injured from McGonagall, it wasn’t because she was distracted”, Rosalie said slowly, with the last words told. Ariadne shook her head, she walked away with Sierra. Rosalie followed them and urged, “What is it? Please tell me”, the two girls purposefully ignored Rosalie, the latter stopped following them. This was ridiculous, they didn’t even want to listen to her.

Rosalie spent the rest of her day silently navigating through her classes, trying to think of why her two friends were acting this way. And for a mysterious reason, Leo wasn’t present to their shared classes at all, he wasn’t even at Lunch or Dinner. It was less lonely when Rosalie went to the Hospital wing to spend the remaining hours of her day with Elizabeth; that was now back to her attitude.

* * *

“for merlin’s sake! Stop apologizing and just get me loads of butterbeer!”, The blonde demanded, slapping Rosalie pleading hands away from her lap. “but, I am sorry! I should’ve escaped from Eileen to see your game!”, it was very obvious the brunette decided to use her white lie. “Get me a damn butterbeer and shut up and talk about something else!”. Minerva hissed from the other side, looking up from her advanced transfiguration book, “language!” she scolded. Elizabeth gave a sigh and whispered, “do you realise that I’m stuck with miss rules right here for a whole week?! Madam Pomfrey said I will be able to walk without a cane by Christmas break, I wanted to keep the cane so Mother doesn’t scold me for having bad grades”.

“That’s brilliant news! That means you will join classes very soon”, Rosalie said, Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders, then hurriedly questioned, “What’s the matter with Ariadne? Every time she comes here, she just wants to gossip about you,” Rosalie frowned, Ariadne certainly loved to gossip and her attitude was odd the past days. “I really have no idea, what do you think I should do?” Rosalie asked hopefully, Elizabeth rested her back to the bed post and said shortly, “Do nothing, she told me you apologised to her, I don’t see what you did wrong at all”, Rosalie gave the blonde the plate of freshly peeled oranges, Elizabeth shook her head, “I’m tired of eating these. Anyways, you did me wrong and not her,”, Rosalie explained, “I yelled at her, and eat the oranges”, Elizabeth took the plate reluctantly, “and you apologized loads for hurting me, and I accepted them. But what’s her problem?”

“maybe she wasn’t a true friend,” Minerva butted in with a small suggestion that made Rosalie heart stop, she refused the red-haired girl words, “no, there’s no way. Ariadne was such a good friend to me, she always took care of me and helped-“

Elizabeth cut the girl, “that’s the problem, you only see the good in people. If I’m honest with you, I don’t like her, she’s loud and she gossips a lot about people and she always pushes other’s down just so she can feel good about herself-“ she only stopped when she noticed Rosalie hurt features, Elizabeth uncomfortably adjusted her words, “What I’m trying to say is, maybe she was faking her care for you,”, Silence spread around the quiet Hospital wing and the only thing that was heard the noise from the wooden grandfather clock sitting at Madam Pomfrey office.

“didn’t you say you had an important thing at seven?”, Elizabeth asked suddenly, pulling Rosalie from her thick thoughts, the brunette looked at the clock, she hurriedly stood up and gathered her books back to her satchel, resting it on her shoulder. “I will see you at Dinner,”, Rosalie waved at Elizabeth that was un-willingly stuffing orange pieces to her mouth, “Yeah”, the blonde shooed her away.

The second Rosalie left the Hospital wing, her eyes widened, seeing Leo standing infront of her. For the first time, Leo looked underprepared and anxious about something, the girl cleared her throat and greeted, “hi,”, He fidgeted with his thumbs and didn’t greet back, only with an odd wave of his hand. Rosalie looked away and thought maybe it wasn’t a good time to talk, he looked mentally not ready and she had to go to Riddle that very much didn’t like her being late. Claiming that his time was very precious. She took the other way to walk, giving him space to enter the Hospital wing. Probably to visit Elizabeth, the blonde confirmed her regularly visited her to tutor her or just have a short five minutes insulting competition with her, just like how she named it.

“Rosalie!” Leo called, the girl looked ack at him. Hoping he didn’t want to talk about anything serious. Now, Leo may be a natural intelligent academically, but he certainly wasn’t intelligent emotionally or even good at reading the room, “Yes,” Rosalie replied. Leo approached her, “Do you have time to talk?”, the girl had to stop herself from giving an exhausted sigh. She thought maybe making Riddle wait a few more minutes wasn’t deadly, all he’s gonna do is say few hurtful words and let her off the hook. Just like how he’s been doing the last few days. Rosalie nodded to Leo question.

They walked side by side, he asked, “how have you been these days?”, the girl replied curtly, “I’m alright, and you?”, he really didn’t need to know how Ariadne was cutting her off her life or how Riddle has been acting like a git towards her, “I wanted to ask you, is it true?”, Leo questioned with furrowed eyebrows, trying to organize his thoughts and words. “what is true?” Rosalie asked back. Leo finally confessed, “that you will never love me back?”.

This was it, Rosalie wanted to leave this place, now! She blamed herself for being nice to Leo, just because she was sincerely nice to him he assumed she liked him. Rosalie shook her head and said truthfully, “Leo, You’re an amazing friend and I would move mountains for you, but you have to understand I don’t love you like how you think and I don’t think I will, ever”. Leo stopped walking, Rosalie looked around her to make sure no one was eavesdropping on their conversation. Thankfully, The halls were empty because most students were crowding the study hall or the great hall. “What does he have that I don’t?” Leo asked sharply, he started counting on his finger, “I am clever, I’m handsome and I’m rich! And no one knows anything about Riddle family, he’s probably a mudblood. And my family is known for our pure blood status!” when he finished, he finally paid attention to Rosalie raged features. Looking down to see her clenching her fist to the point all the blood circulated away from it; turning to a pale-white. “How dare you?”, she asked calmly, as if it was the calm before the storm. She then shook her head sharply, massaging the bridge of her nose, “I can’t believe you just said that, I know you’re egotistical. But I never thought you would step this low”, Rosalie said coldly, her voice very cold he can even feel the chill reaching his accelerating heart. Leo couldn’t read the que to leave her alone, he asked again, seeking for the truth, “what do you love so much about Riddle that I don’t have? Just tell me!”

“I don’t love Riddle! Why can’t you just understand that?!” Rosalie screamed, her hands flailing to prove her point further, the un-locked satchel fell from her shoulder and her books scattered messily on the floor. She ignored them for now, giving a harsh look to Leo that still looked like he was persistent on his assumptions. His assumptions were proved further; or that’s what he thought. When Tom figure appeared before them, “You’re late,” he told Rosalie, the girl shook her head with disbelief as she kneeled to pick up her books, Leo attempted to help her, but Tom was faster, picking the books from his hands, she put them neatly inside her satchel, this time making sure she closed it well.

“thank you,” she whispered a word of gratitude. She casted a strange look to Leo, and walked the other way with Tom. Just as they were few corridors away from Leo, Tom said, “How many times do I have to drill into your thick skull that you shouldn’t ever be late?”, Tom glared at her with the corner of his eyes, the girl didn’t give him any sort of response. Not even with a look, it looked like she wasn’t even acknowledging his presence next to her. “Abella”, he called sharply. The girl gave him a surprised look, it was very clear she was pulled from such deep thoughts. Tom had to fight the urge to read through her mind, she will most definitely notice and expose his identity.

“what did you say?” she asked, Tom repeated slower and sharper. “Don’t ever be late again, my time is precious! And I‘d rather not waste it on searching for you,”. Rosalie asked with a shrug of her shoulders, “You know I will come either way. So, why do you search for me?”, Tom face stiffened by her simple question, she was right. Why did he search for her?

Thankfully, the girl drowned back to her thoughts and didn’t pay much attention to him. She only snapped out of it when they reached to the room of requirements. Tom doing his silly walk again, Rosalie for the first time didn’t giggle at it. Today was truly an odd day.

* * *

Rosalie thought she won’t pay attention to Ariadne or her roommates that suddenly started to act very rude towards her. Leo was very distant towards her as well, for the first time Rosalie appreciated not being surrounded by people. She understood why Tom & Eileen loved being isolated. Having one loyal friend is so much better than having a million of fake friends, or in Rosalie case. Four fake friends. Elizabeth was finally let out of the Hospital, she looked like it was the happiest moment of her life when she had the first sip of butterbeer; that Rosalie promised to get for her.

“Abella, Professor sprout would like to talk to you,”, Rosalie faced Ariadne. The girl had a sour look on her face, Elizabeth that was standing next to Rosalie. She said, “Hey, fix your ugly face or I will fix it for you”. Rosalie hissed at Elizabeth that took out her wand; looking very ready to hex the sour Ariadne. She rolled her eyes as she gave Rosalie a glare, “You must be very happy, taking my spot as a prefect”, Ariadne looked her up and down. Rosalie frowned and said, “what are you talking about?! I’d never want to tak-“

“save your words, Abella. Coming here from your awesome older school just to take everything away from me, why don’t you just go kill yourself. I truly wish that Grindelwald slaughtered you that night”. Ariadne said, her eyes slightly widening when she realised what she said. Elizabeth forced a laugh as she said, “Aha! That’s how he knew exactly where and when to come, you know, I truly don’t believe in a coincident”.

“You told him?” Rosalie asked, trying to confirm. Looking as if she truly wanted to deny it from her head. “I did, and I would do it again”, Ariadne said proudly, Elizabeth pushed her away and pulled Rosalie with her. “ignore her, she’s just jealous of you,”.

“jealous of WHAT?! My only family is my father who I’m not sure is going to live tomorrow, I live each day praying that he remains alive! Jealous that I’m an outcast in this school?! Jealous that I’m a terrible human-being?!”, Rosalie busted, her tears threatening to fall. Elizabeth exhaled and said calmly, “for merlin’s sake, are you blind? Can’t you see why she’s jealous? You’re an extra-ordinary student, the brightest witch I’ve ever seen! For merlin’s sake just look at the mirror and see how gorgeous you look! This head of yours deserves a crown!”, without realising they reached Professor Sprout office, Elizabeth pushed the girl towards the entrance.

“now go get your prefect badge!”, Elizabeth urged. Rosalie grinned, wiping the lone tear that trickled down her cheek. “but I don’t want it, I basically stole it from Ariadne,” she said, looking to the side with shame. Elizabeth crossed her arms and scolded, “No! you deserve it, her grades are lowering and she isn’t doing her job properly” Elizabeth lifted her hand to point at Professor Sprout office, “get the badge and let us go get some pudding”, Rosalie giggled and walked inside the office.

“Miss Abella, I’m assuming you know why you’re here,” Professor Sprout, the head of Hufflepuff. She sat on the warm office, a steaming cup of some sort of tea swirling in it. Her hands came to clasp together, she gave Rosalie a warmer smile. The younger girl gave her a nervous nod and an anxious smile. The older woman stood up, taking the yellow velvet small box off her table. “It’s a rather upsetting news for Miss Meadows to resign from her spot, but I just couldn’t keep my eyes away that she’s using her badge in an improper way”,

She approached Rosalie, opening the box to reveal the shiny Hufflepuff prefect badge. “Professor Dumbledore and me both had the same idea, you’re much capable than Miss Meadows, Headmaster Dippet agreed instantly, when we shared our concerns to him”, The woman clasped the Hufflepuff badge on Rosalie robes. The badge reflected the light coming from the many candles at Professor Sprout office. “It truly suits you more,”

Rosalie blushed deeply, Professor Sprout held onto her shoulders and said firmly, “I’m sure you won’t disappoint, and Congratulations,”, Rosalie gave her a bright smile. Maybe she just had few unfortunate incidents at Hogwarts, when Rosalie exited the office with a wide smile, she was greeted by Elizabeth screeching and hugging her, both of them dancing happily. Hogwarts wasn’t terrible after all.

That night, Tom didn’t come to search for Rosalie and it’s not like he needed. She was early, waiting by the wall that lead to the room of requirements. When Tom appeared before her, she greeted him with a wide grin and an enthusiastic wave of her hand. “Hello Tom!”, Tom narrowed his view at her suspiciously, “You seem happy today,”, the girl nodded and pointed at the badge on her chest, Tom eyed it and said shortly, “Good job,” the girl smile widened, she asked, “you don’t look surprised,” she watched him do the silly ritual once again. Rosalie warm smile was just as warm as that fireplace at the Slytherin dorm.

“it’s predictable, Meadows used her badge inadequately”, he said shortly, the door formed again, they both entered it, “Hey Tom,” Rosalie called, noticing the fireplace that was awkwardly made onto the wall, “Did you imagine a fireplace?”, the girl pointed at fireplace, Tom frowned at it, he didn’t think of one. She shrugged her shoulders, scattering to stand closely to it as she rubbed her cold hands closer to the crackling fire. “Hey Tom,” she called once again. He sighed and looked sharply at her, “what?” he asked, very exhausted from her hyper mood.

“Do you never get cold? You’re not even wearing a scarf or thick clothes” She noted, looking at him. He really was just wearing his uniform. Come to think of it, Rosalie never heard him complaining about how cold it was or saw him out of the school uniform. “I don’t,” he replied, Rosalie tilted her head to the side, she urged with rising curiosity, “Why is that?”, she remembered Grindelwald words about her not fitting in the cold weather, remembered Elizabeth words that the dark Hogwarts robes didn’t suit her. Was it the Orphanage he lived at? It was true, she remembered seeing how it looked like from the snippets at his mind. The poor orphanage with dark palate.

“Would you like me to knit you a scarf and gloves? I’m very good at knitting,” she offered, Tom said sharply, “I don’t want anything from you, Let’s just start studying”, Rosalie raised her eyebrows at him, she approached him. Absent-mindedly touching his hands, they were freezing! Rosalie forced herself to act that it was alright, but it wasn’t. She quickly took off her gloves from the pockets of her robes. She slipped the pink wool gloves to his left hand, “What are you doing?!”, he yelled. Quickly attempting to take the glove off, the girl quickly did a spell to make them stick to his hand.

“Take it off! Abella!” He screamed once again, with him being furious at her small gesture. She easily slipped the other glove to his other hand. “I demand you obey me!”, The girl ignored his screams, taking the book from the table, as she opened it, “Let’s study, you don’t want to waste time, do you?”.

“Take them off” Tom demanded, the girl smiled and explained, “they will easily come off after two hours. The spell is that strong, you won’t believe it when Canna stuck a paper bag to my face, I couldn’t see or breath properly for two hours. It was very impractical”, with that. Tom lost hope to convince the girl to take off the pink gloves from his hand. He portrayed them to her face as he said rudely, “Do you truly love this colour this much?”. The girl nodded, “speaking of which, is black your favourite colour?”. Tom ignored her question, purposefully started reading the book components, yet, her smile didn’t flatter and her high mood wasn’t lowered, not even a bit.

When the lesson finished, Tom ignoring Rosalie sudden and random questions. They exited the room. Rosalie telling him a story of when Canna tried to prank her into drinking a nasty potions but it was Canna at the end that drank it. “and then she wasn’t able to speak for a whole three days because her breath was so foul, isn’t that crazy? Imagine if I drank it,” Rosalie told him, finishing it with a laugh. “perhaps, I should give it to you now so you stop talking,” Tom said. The girl chuckled and said, “too bad, it won’t work on me”,

“why’s that?” He asked, Rosalie answered quickly, “because,” she answered ambiguously. Tom looked back at his hand, realising that he didn’t take off the pastel coloured gloves. He quickly took them, handing them to Rosalie. “I can’t believe Christmas is close, time really is flying,”, when they reached the group of stairs that lead to their different destinations, Rosalie waved at him as she walked to the opposite staircase, “I’ll see you tomorrow!”, she said quickly.

She made a mental plan to go to the Gryffindor dorm to ask for Elizabeth, then they will go have dinner like all the other ordinary student here. All except Tom that decided he will open the chamber of secrets that night.

* * *

Could you guys feel the shade in the last line? lol, I hope you liked the chapter <3\. Chapter seven will be up very soon as well ^^ 


	9. Chapter 7: The aftermath.

Chapter 7: The aftermath.

* * *

Chapter 7:

Many things weren’t going like the souls desired, Tom faced the exact same fate. He stood at the faucet with the snake engraved at it. And, unfortunately, Persephone twirled around his legs affectionately as if he owned her. The thought passed his mind, tightening his eyes at the half-kneazel. She was very annoying like her owner. Tom hissed at her, “Go!”, yet the cat just meowed at him again. He kicked his legs away, yet the cat paid him no mind, he even tried to hex the cat but for a strange reason. Not one of his spells landed on her, it made him question his abilities, but his spells worked at the wall. But it didn’t work on the cat.

“Go to your owner!” he demanded again, the cat climbed his robes and attempted to sit on his shoulders, Tom simply shrugged his shoulders and the cat almost fell, but it held onto the collar of his shirt. For now, Tom thought he would open the passageway to reach to the beast resting there. “open up” he said in parseltongue, the entrance appeared slowly before him. “OLIVE HORNBY YOU MEANIE!” a voice yelled, it echoed back to Tom that quickly dropped the cat on the floor and went down the way that lead to Salaazar Slytherin beast.

At the same time and a different place, Rosalie tossed and turned at her bed. Persephone was un-naturally late. It concerned Rosalie too much, she finally thought it would be an ideal idea to look for the white half-kneazel. It loved hanging around the second floor, mainly to take apart of Peeves pranks. And to receive unhealthy amount of snacks from the Ravenclaws that passed that side of the castle to reach to the staircase leading to their tower. Rosalie quickly threw on the dainty cardigan; forgetting completely that Hogwarts upper floors were freezing unlike the Hufflepuff dorms that was always warm.

With that, Rosalie mind was set to find Persephone. The castle empty corridors with dim-lit candles. And the paintings that were sleeping peacefully, nothing looked out of place. Delicate touches tickled Rosalie leg. She hid her gasp with her palm, looked down to find the mischievous half-kneazel. Rosalie took her in her arms as she whispered, “I was so worried, don’t do that again”, she ruffled her white fur lovingly as she blew raspberries to her chubby belly. However, Persephone hit Rosalie with her tail. And a scream coming from the nearby restroom alarmed Rosalie. Her body chilled, what was the reason of the scream? The cat jumped down from Rosalie arms before she can even think of anything. She walked to the bathroom with Rosalie following her.

“Come here! Persephone! Come to mummy!”, Rosalie said, slightly louder than what she wished for. “Close your eyes!”, a voice demanded. It wasn’t very hard for Rosalie to distinguish it. No one was this demanding except Tom Riddle. Rosalie assumed that he probably wasn’t dressed for some reason. So, her hands shot up to hide her eyes, she walked closer to entrance of the restroom, “What is it? Do you want my jumper?”, Rosalie offered, standing still by the entrance. Completely un-aware of the Basilisk standing tall before her. Watching her as if she was a top tier delicacy. Persephone meowed erratically, twirling around Rosalie legs. Tom spoke in parseltongue, “Leave her, Go back into hiding!”. With that, the giant snake slithered back to the Chamber.

“Leave, Abella!” Tom demanded, the girl feet stuck to the ground, her hands still hiding her eyes. “You’re acting so strange,” She commented, Rosalie then asked, “Are you dressed?”. Tom frowned, then realised she assumed he was bare, definitely for a foolish reason. Tom eyed Myrtle corpse, this really was a situation he never wanted to happen. His first horcrux with a foolish witness like Rosalie, She wasn’t too foolish, she was very easy to fool and he was willing to fool her so she doesn’t figure out his crime. “I will tell you everything, just don’t panic”, Tom ordered her calmly.

Rosalie heart raced, hearing Tom strained voice tell her not to panic was enough to make her panic. Especially when it’s in the middle of the night with every resident of the school being asleep. Her hands clenched on her eyes that she shut tightly, afraid of what she’s going to face. But she forced her self to calm down, she’s a strong woman that can fight anything and anyone, she told Tom, “Just tell me what is it, I’m calm”.

“Good,” Tom said, walking closer to her figure that was standing near the restroom, he took her by her arm towards where Myrtle corpse laid, stopping few metres away from it, the cold tile underneath Rosalie feet alarmed her even more, “take off your hands,” Tom ordered, the girl hands remained above her eyes, “tell me first, what is it?” she asked. Tom vaguely responded, “see for yourself,”. Rosalie slowly took off her hands, her eyes still shut tightly, she said softly as she opened her eyes, “I really hate surprises”, her eyes became slowly adjusted to the bright florescent lightening of the girl’s bathroom, and the first thing she saw was Tom Riddle handsome face, he gestured with his jaw towards the floor beside her.

The girl eyes slowly trailed the white tiles of the bathroom, stopping at Myrtle corpse. She hid her screech once again with her palms, finding nothing to support her weak legs but Tom, she held onto his shoulder roughly, “I found her just now,”, Tom lied. His lie looked very convincing, but not to Rosalie. The girl purposefully looked away from the hole in his lie, it wasn’t the time, she kneeled and tried to touch Myrtle cold hand, “She’s dead, I checked”. Rosalie was stubborn and ignored his words, looking for any sort of life that Myrtle may show.

“oh merlin! What happened to this poor little soul!” Rosalie mourned, tracing her warmer hand at Myrtle stone cold hand. “I hope you rest in peace, I hope Olive didn’t torment your last day with us,” Rosalie said gently, Tom watched her with confusion. Rosalie then faced him, standing up and dusting her linen dress, “What are we going to do now?”, Rosalie asked, Tom snapped out of his thoughts, realising he was zooning out at her dark orbs.

“we will tell a professor, who’s office is the closest to us?” Tom asked her quickly, as if he truly cared about what happens to Myrtle. Rosalie replied, “Professor Flitwick,”, Tom agreed, his hands behind his back as he said, “Alright, I will go tell him what happened, you stay here”. Rosalie refused instantly, “No! I’m coming with you”,

Tom hid his smirk as he asked, “Don’t tell me you’re afraid,”, Rosalie sighed and confessed, “I’m terrified, what if the thing that killed her came for me? I have no idea what it is or what it would do or the proper spell to stun it”, her words were very logical. Tom walked out of the restroom, Rosalie following him closely, and Persephone snuggled to her arms. Shortly after, they reached Professor Flitwick office just beside the Ravenclaw tower. Tom knocked on it, and after long minutes of waiting and Rosalie vibrant mind making up things at the shadows casted from the candles.

The short Professor opened the door, stifling a yawn as he asked, “What is it, students?”, Tom said formally, “There’s an urgent matter, sir,”, Professor Flitwick took the candle lamp with him and followed Tom towards the girls restroom, “Why are you awake? Prefect rounds ended hours ago”, he asked both of the teenagers, “I was looking for my cat,” Rosalie responded, “I was on my way to return the cat to the owner”, Tom replied. Rosalie gave him a doubtful look, yet, she didn’t question his alibi.

However, everything looked believable to Professor Flitwick as he no longer asked questions, and shortly. When the shorter professor witnessed what they saw, he ordered them to go to bed and he will take matters into his hands. But not one of the two teenagers was able to sleep, Rosalie witnessing a corpse of someone she never expected to die. And Tom making his first Horcrux, the fancy diary resting under his bed.

The next day, the whole school was chaotic by the many misfortunates of this year. It was the talk of the school that day, especially with the new member to the ghosts at Hogwarts. The classes were paused for further investigation. And many places were restricted for students. Luckily, Rosalie having her prefect badge, she was able to visit Elizabeth at the Gryffindor common room. It was a much better option than see her roommates act rudely to her. “I just can’t believe that Myrtle died, and you saw her corpse. It must’ve been terrifying” Elizabeth whispered to Rosalie, they both sat facing the fireplace at the Gryffindor common room. Rosalie hugging her knees closer to her as she whispered back, “You have no idea, her hands were as cold as ice”, her hand coming to stroke her half-kneazel fur.

They stopped talking when Oscar Weasley approached them with a dead rat, portraying it close to them, Persephone hissed chaotically at the rat, he joked with questionable noises,“WEEE! The dead rat soul shall remain in-“. Elizabeth kicked him away as she shook her head with disbelief, he gladly left the two girls alone, “imagine being stuck with this idiot for a whole week,” Elizabeth whispered, sitting back at the floor next to the brunette. Rosalie really wanted to tell her she would take Oscar Weasley above Ariadne and her roommates. But she decided to swallow that to her heart, Elizabeth didn’t have to know about them.

“did you hear the news? About the school closing down until they find what did that to Myrtle,”, Elizabeth asked, her voice lowering when some Gryffindor students were running close to them. Rosalie frowned, “why are you assuming that it was a beast that killed Myrtle and not a human?”. Elizabeth shot her head to give Rosalie a knowing look, she asked, “Did you… perhaps, see someone that night?”. When Rosalie looked at the fireplace with guilt and she began to pick the skin of her lips, Elizabeth knew there was something. She urged, “what is it?”.

Rosalie gave a heavy sigh as she said, “I saw Tom Riddle there,”, the blonde eyes widened, she scooted closer to Rosalie, placing her head closer to Rosalie lips. “what was he doing?”, she whispered. Rosalie forced another side as she came to whisper into Elizabeth what she saw and his excuse. By the time she finished, Elizabeth was dumb-founded. Elizabeth whispered “you think, he- he… might’ve… ki-“, Rosalie hand came to hide Elizabeth mouth. Her little actions caught some attention from some nearby students.

“but that’s impossible, Riddle- yeah he’s mad weird but he doesn’t look like a…” Elizabeth couldn’t finish her sentence, if only she knew what will become of Tom in the future, or it may have already started. Perhaps, he was already a monster but was hiding it. “I’m not sure, Beth, I just know that I’m not sure about it and that beasts are made and not born”, Rosalie said slowly, the hand stroking Persephone slowing as well. Causing the cat to look up and climb on Elizabeth leg. Rosalie stood up and fixed her dress, “Well, I will see you tomorrow, Good night,”. She bid her farewell, taking the lazy cat to her arms. “Good night, take care,” Elizabeth said.

With that, Rosalie left the Gryffindor common room. Rosalie had to force herself to forget the lone memory of Myrtle Warren, when she helped her that day to remove the curse word off her cheeks. She was too young to die, just like a caterpillar on her way to transform into a shiny butterfly. Speaking of which, Olive Hornby came to Rosalie mind. She regularly bullied Myrtle. Rosalie physically shook the idea off her head, no way, there’s no way Olive or Tom killed the girl. It was probably some sort of a beast.

“Riddle!”, a booming voice called, Rosalie instantly straightened her back to the wall. That was definitely Professor Dumbledore calling Tom. “professor Dumbledore”, his silky voice responded, his footsteps were decreasing as her approached the professor, it made Rosalie panic a little, if she didn’t hide at the perfect time he may have seen her, as he was standing just beside the corridor she was hiding at. “It’s not wise to be wandering around this late hour, Tom” Dumbledore said. Rosalie walked a bit closer to eavesdrop properly. “Yes professor,” Tom replied, stopping right before Dumbledore. His hands coming to clasp behind his back, “I suppose, I had to see for myself if the rumours were true,” Tom said.

“I’m afraid, they are”, Dumbledore shortly said, Tom hurriedly asked, “about the school as well? I don’t have a home to go to. They wouldn’t really close Hogwarts, would they, professor?”, Rosalie scoffed under her breath, after everything. He only cared about himself. He completely forgot about the fact a girl was deceased. “I understand Tom, but I’m afraid Headmaster Dippet may have no choice”, Dumbledore said calmly.

“Sir, if it all stopped, if the person responsible was caught”, Tom said, his face switching to be very convincing. Dumbledore scanned Tom face deeply, “Is there something…you wish to tell me?”, he asked. Tom replied, “No sir, nothing”, speaking from the corner of his mouth, avoiding eye contact with Dumbledore, it all looked like it was waved to be seen as a lie. But Rosalie knew Tom a little bit better than that, he was very cunning and hiding a lie definitely wouldn’t be hard for him, it was as if he wanted Dumbledore to know he was lying. Rosalie was certain of this.

When Tom finally left the area, Rosalie waited patiently until Dumbledore and the remaining teachers left as well. It took barely five minutes and Persephone fluffy fur made her waiting time less boring and nerve-wracking. When the candles dimmed as the last teacher left the scene, Rosalie instantly dashed to the corridor Tom took, there was no way he went back to his dorms with that determined face of his. Rosalie convinced herself when it took a little longer to find him.

“ARAGOG! NO!”, exactly what Rosalie needed, she stopped at her tracks when the sound came from the locked door just to her left, of course, it had to be a broomsticks closet. Rosalie instantly opened the door, facing her darkest childhood fear. A giant spider was facing the door. The two boys, a giant student that Rosalie recognised to be Hagrid. And Tom with his wand out, “What the HELL is going on?!” Rosalie screamed.

“Stay away, Abella! That beast was the thing that killed the poor girl!”, Tom yelled, his arm stretching to stop Rosalie from walking inside the closet more, “It was your fault! beasts don’t count as pets, Hagrid!” Tom shouted. Rosalie eyed the nervous giant standing at the corner of the room, “Aragog didn’ kill th’ girl!” he cried into his sleeve, Rosalie stayed silent as she watched the spider that was now flipped upside down, one of it’s legs twitched crazily.

“Leave, Abella, it’s not safe” Tom ordered, his arm still blocking the way for Rosalie. the girl wanted to laugh at his words, since when did he care about her well-being? Did he see her as some sort of a pushover? “Stop it, Riddle,” Rosalie said, pushing Tom arm away from the doorway, she walked inside the closet. Before Tom could argue with her, she asked, “What does your- um… pet usually eat?”, she glanced at the spider. Hagrid wiped his tears, “Rats an’ birds”.

Silence formed a thin line at the closet. They only kept looking doubtfully at each other, or it was only a staring contest between Rosalie and Tom. “that sums it up, I will tell Professor Dumbledore”, Tom said, he exited the closet, Rosalie stopped him, “but that doesn’t make any sense,”, she said. Then followed him out of the closet. “Myrtle wasn’t bleeding, her body was just stunned,”. Tom had to admit, Rosalie wasn’t foolish and she wasn’t easy to fool and for some reason, she looks very doubtful of him as if she knew something he didn’t expect.

“I am aware, she could’ve died of fright, it happens”, Tom reasoned, his reason was acceptable and believable. Finally, Rosalie believed him. However, she remained mute. She didn’t mutter a word, glanced at Hagrid wet face with tears and snot. Rosalie stopped and told Tom, “I think I will just stay with him,”. The boy looked at her within his eyelashes, looking very disturbing and psychopathic, “Why?”. He was very doubtful of Rosalie actions, as she was doubtful and sceptical of him as well.

Rosalie said obviously, “look at him, he’s very devastated. And he’s very young and innocent-“, “Why does it matter to you?” Tom cut her, getting irritated at how it was very easy for her to sympathise with the half giant. The girl said with a tone that portrayed he was asking the most trivial questions to be asked, “because no one deserves to feel this way,”. She pivoted on her shoes, entered the closet and restrained the spider securely after making sure to use a counter-spell to what Tom used. “Can I call you Hagrid?”, Rosalie asked softly, her small hand looking miniature on contrast to Hagrid hand. He blew on his nose as he nodded, his battered handkerchief was looking rough and disgusting, yet Rosalie casted a small wave of her hand as it magically cleaned itself.

The half-giant cried more at Rosalie small gesture, she wordlessly patted his back. Fully aware that her meaningless words would give him false hope, he will most certainly get expelled. It squeezed Rosalie heart with guilt, as she blamed herself for not having any way to solve his problem or make him feel better. He was too young to go through all of that, he was too young to suffer. Just like Merope, the dark, sullen woman with her unborn child wandering through the streets.

All of this happened under Tom radar, his inquisitiveness, doubt and interest rising with the girl strange personality and actions. How come she had so much emotions and empathy that even he believed he lacked? Very weak, he was glad he wasn’t like her. Emotions and feelings such as love, care and compassion were some of the things he was happy he lacked. It would soften him and there was no such place for people like that in this curious universe.

Couple days after, Tom was awarded for his heroic position. His admirers club multiplied. The whole school knew him and he was the talk of the school. Poor Hagrid was expelled, and few people that were countable in one hand cared about his wellbeing. With that, December marched in. The snow at the ground made it almost impossible to walk outside the castle, so the Hogsmeade trips were paused until further notice.

The winter break was proximate. The excited conversations of first years talking about how they can’t wait to meet their families filled the campus. It upset Rosalie attitude swiftly, she wasn’t going to spend Christmas with her family for the first time. She was sitting at the library, sitting very far from the centre, as it was where the first years crowded the most with their hummed chatter. The book about Salazar Slytherin history opened, yet no matter how much she reads into that certain page. Repeating it an odd number of times, her mind was too occupied to actually learn something about the mysterious wizard family tree.

That’s why she found it easy to notice the chair next to her get pulled to the back, she was sitting at the corner of the library, that only had students pouring all their attention to their books; all sitting isolated individually to welcome that idea. Rosalie raised her head to look back at Leo, setting his books beside her as he sat down. Rosalie remained still, not wanting to appear distasteful by changing her seat. Although, if he crossed the line. She won’t hesitate to smack him with that heavy Salazar Slytherin history book.

She returned back to look at her book, the thought of reading it certainly left her mind. Besides, Leo sitting next to her while three other empty tables were vacant meant something. Rosalie waited a long second before Leo whispered to her, “Can I talk to you in private?”, She wanted to tell him that where they were was private, not a soul was present. It was the corner of the library after all. But he threw the idea out of her mind when he stood up, patiently waiting for her to follow him. Not even waiting for her to agree to his request. Thus, Rosalie followed him.

They exited the library, stopping at that quiet corridor next to it. “I thought about it, I shouldn’t have spoken that way to you, or talk about someone behind their back”, he said quickly. It wasn’t a proper apology, and it won’t even be considered one. Nevertheless, it made Rosalie heart leap with joy. She didn’t mutter a single word, but the warm smile on her lips made it clear to Leo that what he had been thinking about for weeks now was right. Stepping down from the high tower he called Ego, was a good choice. That, he was confident of.

“I shouldn’t have assumed that idea of you,”, he said lastly. Her smile widened, it even transformed to a happy chuckle. Leo didn’t know what was funny, but at least it made Rosalie happy. And maybe she will talk to him just like how they did in the past. Her occasional compliment, her unexpected touches. The small little gestures that she coated with love and care was always the highlight of his day.

“so, does that mean we’re friends again?” Rosalie asked hopefully. Unaware of the effect the simple question had on Leo. Friend? That’s not what he wanted. He wanted to be more than that, why can’t she see that? Still, he was willing to take the long route, he will make her come around soon. At the end, he always got what he wanted. He grinned and said, “yes, I’ll let you be my friend”.

Rosalie laughed happily, clapping her hand as she doubled over her stomach. Shortly, she straightened again and said, “I really missed you my friend,”, she physically refrained herself from hugging him, worried he will get the incorrect idea again.

After that little encounter that boosted Rosalie mood. “I saw your name… at the list of the students staying here for winter break,” Rosalie said to Tom, they were currently reading through one of the books involving advanced wandless magic. The room of requirements that was very minimalistic at first started to fill out slowly, starting from the fireplace to the pile of books there. To the cat basket at the corner of Persephone to rest in. The small couch that Rosalie loved to sit at, gathering her knees to her and munching at the moist cookies from the kitchens. The sturdy royal armchair that was facing the fireplace, Tom always occupied that seat. And Rosalie had to admit, the royal theme suited him best.

“and?”, Tom questioned her, raising his eyes to meet her own curious orbs. Rosalie asked lowly, “you’re not going back home?”, fixing her posture to give him her attention to any sort of reply, Tom looked away, “That’s none of your business.” He told her shortly, looking back to his book, flipping the page to absorb into the following information. “don’t be like that, you know, I’m also staying here”, Rosalie said, noticing that the dark circles under his eyes deepened. Was he not getting enough sleep? Was something occupying his restless mind? She wondered.

Tom gave a sharp exhale, shot his head to look at her, gave her a hard glare. Rosalie suddenly asked, “Is there something bothering you?”, Tom raised a single eyebrow, then answered with another question, “what makes you think that?”, the girl said easily, “the dark circles under your eyes, you haven’t been getting enough sleep, have you? And I noticed you skip lunch and dinner-“, “have you been stalking me? Why do you notice such things?!” Tom interrupted her, his voice slightly raising. Rosalie blushed, and refused, “What?! No! It’s just that, well… you stand out so much and I can’t help but notice you,”. Her voice turning to a whisper as her blush thickened, and suddenly Rosalie felt the room turning hot. Was she truly that embarrassed?

For the greater good, Tom returned to his book, and her words floated at the air. Rosalie finally looked back to her book as well. Mentally having a fit with herself. Continuously scolding herself. Really? Because you stand out so much? What were you thinking?! Tom stood up from his armchair, “that’s all for today,” he said, Rosalie didn’t argue, the class only lasted less than an hour and they didn’t even practice. But he looked exhausted, he was human after all.

“Sure,”, Rosalie said, standing up as well and gathering her belongings. Persephone soon followed, following Rosalie as she left the room of requirements just behind Tom. He was walking few steps ahead of her; the idea of taking a much needed rest intriguing him. He had to admit, he didn’t think much about how he was deliberately exceeding his body limits, whether it was from the lack of sleep or food. Rosalie small notice made him realise what he was doing. Whether it was consciously or unconsciously, she was right.

“Hey, Tom,” Rosalie called him, it made Tom realise that the amount of different variety of times when calling his first or last name was increasing. She didn’t have a pattern and seemed to do it with out thinking, he does remember her calling Professor Dumbledore, Albus loudly one time when he passed by her talking with him. “Here,” she said, extending her hand. Tom looked at her hand, it had three chocolate chip cookies. The kind she always had when they had a lesson. “I don’t want it,” Tom refused, looking the other way, distastefully. Rosalie shook her head, and forcefully putting the cookies into his pocket. She was swift and he almost didn’t see her. “Tell me, how are you this fast? And why are you stubborn?”, he asked her. Taking out the cookies from his robes pocket and giving it to her. Rosalie smiled and pointed at the Hufflepuff barrels, since when did they arrive to her dorms this quickly?

“you have to live with a bully to know how to be fast, if I wasn’t fast enough, Canna evil pranks would get to me. Did I tell you? One time she made a stray dog chase me around the mansion, it was hilarious seeing her face when she saw that I escaped it successfully and with no injuries,” Rosalie said excitedly, a sincere smile forming up on her face. Recalling the old times made her had a nostalgic look and her heartstrings were tugged, she really missed home. She missed living in the mansion with that magical garden that always had gorgeous trees and plants no matter the season.

“Didn’t you get revenge on her so she doesn’t do it again?”, Tom asked, deciding to take the cookies. Rosalie was very stubborn and wouldn’t accept them back. Whatever, she saved him the trip of going to the kitchens. “Not exactly, she doesn’t learn at all. Envy is blind, grandma used to say that. Her pranks are mostly dim-witted and east to catch, it wasn’t a big deal,”, Rosalie said, shrugging her arms, looking away from Tom. His calculating eyes boring at her as if she was from a different universe.

Her short story about her cousin that was a bully, it reminded him of those two kids at the orphanage that bullied him at how he was ‘weird’ He didn’t let them bully him for long, he didn’t take his revenge quickly. He did have a constructed plan that he sketched specially for them so they don’t try to test him again. “Did you have an experience with bullies as well? You looked confused to why I didn’t venge myself, you did take your revenge, didn’t you?”, Rosalie asked with a small grin, Tom remained silent. Rosalie jumped again to conclusions, “it must’ve happened while you were young, because you’re loved here, was it at the orphanage?”.

This was wrong, how did she assume all of that correctly? How does she say it so confidently? And why does she assume that she knows him well. This is dangerous, she’s dangerous. Rosalie Zane Abella is harmful, she must be executed from his life.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed chapter 7 :D feedback and criticism is more than welcome and appreciated :)


	10. Chapter 8: The letter.

Chapter 8: The letter.

* * *

When Christmas break approached, many students abandoned the castle. They truly didn’t care about the muggle war going on. Few pupils remained in the castle, and they were all countable In under ten fingers.

“let’s explore the castle, all the snitches left the school,” Elizabeth said, linking her arm with Rosalie’s. the two girls grinned at each other, “yeah! It’s just us and Leo!” Rosalie affirmed joyfully, Elizabeth stopped walking, massaged her temples for dramatic effect, “Nerd Leo Hornby is staying here? His annoying sister is going home, why isn’t he leaving as well?” Elizabeth quipped. Her high spirits slightly lowering with the news.

“Don’t be mean! He’s our friend as well, I guess he’s staying for the same reason as you,”, Rosalie said her last words sweetly as she nudged Elizabeth shoulder, Elizabeth crossed her arms as she looked the other way, trying to hide the smile on her face, “If you keep making fun of me because I’m staying here with you again, I will force you to hear mother’s howler”.

“Thank you very much, I’ve heard enough of those,” Rosalie stated, her eyes wandering around the interior of the castle, as it quickly emptied of students. She also wondered why she hasn’t seen Tom all day, he’s usually at the library. But, he wasn’t there at all. And, he wasn’t seen at the great hall. However, she did see Abraxas Malfoy and Orion Black talking highly of their plans in the Christmas break.

Elizabeth observed the look on her friend’s eyes, she always wondered what was going on Rosalie’s mind. She wasn’t clueless, she noticed the way Rosalie would disappear in between the evenings and cut their hang outs to attend some unknown rendezvous. Elizabeth forced a smile on her face, “tell me, How did you spend your previous Christmas breaks?”.

Rosalie snapped out of her thoughts, she responded, “we used to have this marvellous feast, then we would play around and dance, it never snows in Christmas back home and the flowers would still bloom and we would make flower crowns,”.

Elizabeth didn’t want to let the seed of doubt sink into her heart, so she forced a smile again and suggested, “how about we do that here?”.

Rosalie glanced at her with a smile, when her eyes fell onto Elizabeth face. Her grin fell, “What is it?”, she asked. Elizabeth glanced at her awkwardly, “What?”.

“You’re acting odd, did I do something?”, Rosalie asked, inspecting Elizabeth features deeply. The blonde gave a sharp sigh, her walls crumbling as she confessed, “I feel like you’re hiding something from me, and… I’m not pressuring you to tell me but it’s making me feel like you don’t trust me enough,”.

Rosalie inhaled her breath, coming to stop in the middle of the corridor, Elizabeth stopping as well as she looked at her with an apologetic look. “Alright, I should’ve told you anyways but please… promise me not to tell anyone,”.

Elizabeth put her hand on her heart, and whispered, “I swear on my magic,”. The brunette jaw sunk as she hissed, “Elizabeth! That’s dangerous!”, the former shrugged her shoulders and whispered, “now tell me,”.

Rosalie took the blonde arm towards an isolated corridor, with no portraits to witness their secretive conversation. When the stopped, Rosalie calmed her racing heart, “I will have to tell you from the start, so be ready”.

After the brunette confessed everything, from the start to her ancestry and to the story of her older regretful self telling her what to do, and finally to the fate of Tom Riddle. It took the blonde long minutes to absorb the new information, and even when it was dinner time, she was still surprised.

The great hall long tables were swapped with one large circular table to fit the fourteen remains of the souls that didn’t leave the school. Seven professors and the headmaster, and six students. Two third years, Rosalie, Elizabeth, Leo and Tom.

Professor Slughorn looked very pleased to be having a spectacular Christmas dinner with his favourite students, as he saw all the fifth years had so much potential. Elizabeth with her amazing Quidditch skills ought to be an eye-catching player, Tom and Rosalie shall compete on leading the ministry of magic, Leo dreams were set to be a genius healer. They had to be his favourite students.

So, he didn’t hesitate to ask the brunette sitting next to him, “Miss Abella, what are your plans for the far future?”, the girl looked at him and gave him a kind smile, “I’m not too sure professor, well… what would you suggest for me?”.

The older man grinned, “I think leading the ministry of magic is a great choice for you, that’s you and Mr.Riddle, of course,” He said the last part as he glanced at the calm Tom. The latter was always ready for scenarios like this. Just like a cunning fox, he agreed, “thank you, sir,”.

“what about me, sir? What would you suggest for me?”, Elizabeth asked, her eyes purposefully looking away from Tom as if he wasn’t present. Who would have thought this perfect boy would turn to be the future terroriser?

Slughorn replied with a firm tone, “a Quidditch player of course, you don’t have high grades to help you in other fields,”. Leo chuckled lowly, the blonde shot him a dirty look.

When the plates were shiny again, Elizabeth stood up quickly and hissed a little loudly to Rosalie, “Hey! Let’s have a sleepover!”. Leo tutted at her, “that’s against the rules, Rosalie is a Hufflepuff and you’re a Gryffindor”.

“Ugh shut up, why are you even here? Olive is back home!” Elizabeth shouted, until she faked a gasp, her index coming to point at Leo, “wait! Does that mean…”. Leo narrowed his eyes at Elizabeth, bluntly shaking his head as the blonde chuckled with Rosalie.

“But how about you guys sleepover to the Hufflepuff dorms? Even you, Leo,” Rosalie offered, Elizabeth agreed instantly, “I’m in!”. They both glanced at Leo; spectating his opinion. The boy cheeks flushed at the thought of sleeping beside a girl.

“Don’t get any wrong ideas, idiot”, Elizabeth mocked, her nose crinkling slightly at the blush on his pale cheeks.

With that, they all separated to get their things and will re-unite at the Hufflepuff dorms. Rosalie decided she will take the scarf she knitted for Tom. It was a dark dusk wool scarf, embroidered with his initials in gold at the ends of it. She clutched on it as she took the shortest route to the Slytherin dorms. She saw him talking to professor Slughorn after dinner, by now, he must’ve been there.

However, she couldn’t find him. And when she asked the paintings next to the Slytherin dorms, if they spotted him. The answer was no.

Rosalie decided she will just give it to him tomorrow morning, it was more fitting like that. On her way to the Hufflepuff Dorms, she found Elizabeth standing next to it, an unhealthy amount of bertie botts every flavor beans, and chocolate frogs sitting messily in her arms. “Hey!” the blonde greeted, noticing the black scarf in Rosalie hand.

“Hi!”, Rosalie said joyfully, her hands squeezing on the scarf uncomfortably. Elizabeth glanced at it, “What’s that?”, the previous one bit her lower lips before giving up and saying, “Alright, it’s a scarf I made for Tom,”.

Balanced footsteps were heard, the two girls remained silent as they watched Leo approach them, “Hi, Leo,” they said at the same time. Rosalie knocked on the barrels, finally inviting them inside the empty Hufflepuff dorms.

Leo and Elizabeth walked around the common room, inspecting and touching everything out of curiosity, “It gives me a warm feeling,” Elizabeth said, joining Rosalie to set their blankets by the fireplace.

Leo held the scarf from the warm-toned couch, his fingertips stroking the golden initials. His eyebrows knitted as he questioned sceptically, “is that yours?”, Rosalie stood up quickly and snatched it from his fingers, “yeah! Thanks!”, with that she disappeared to the interior rooms.

They spent the whole night wide awake, just to play, dance, eat an unhealthy amount of snacks, and to tell each other scary stories. It was mostly Elizabeth and Leo listening to Rosalie stories, as they were constructed from the beasts back in the forests in Uagadou. Something new and something they didn’t hear of.

* * *

The next morning, with Elizabeth and Leo sleeping peacefully by the fireplace. Rosalie quietly got ready, her mind still stubborn on giving Tom his Christmas gift. The possibility that he will refuse vivid in her mind, but that’s not a problem. She will think about that when she finds him.

Rosalie dashed through the spacious Hogwarts corridors, reviewing Tom’s daily routine. He would have an early breakfast when no one’s awake, then he would go to the library and spend his mornings there.

She pushed the gates of the great hall, stepping inside of it as her eyes scanned the place. However, Tom wasn’t seen there. The long tables were pushed to the sides as one circular wooden table sat in the middle, with a lone pine tree on the corner of the great hall. Decorated with beautiful ornaments, Rosalie walked closer to it.

The tree reached the enchanted ceiling, and at the base it had a pile of gifts. Scribbled with different names, Rosalie found her name in a few coloured parchments; they had to be Christmas gifts. “I see you’ve finally discovered the magical Christmas tree!” a voice hollered behind her.

The girl flinched in her place, she turned to face Professor Dumbledore, he had a wide grin in his face. As he was wearing coloured robes instead of his usual tuxedo set. “Good morning, Professor”, she greeted, with a gentle smile on her lips.

“I have to say, miss Potter and mr Hornby put their gifts under the tree last night, before your said, his eyes pointing at the tree. Rosalie glanced at it, his words were right, Elizabeth ugly handwriting was visible on some, Leo organized handwriting were on the other half.

Rosalie felt a blush cover her face, she was way too indulged in giving Tom his present that she forgot to put her friends gifts under the Christmas tree. Still, how did Dumbledore knew they had a sleepover?

“How did you know that we had a sleepover?”, Rosalie asked, slightly furrowing her eyebrows. Her heart beating faster, they broke the first rule in the houses law. The older man chuckled a hearty laugh, “Miss Potter is very talkative when she’s excited”. They shared a short laugh.

With Dumbledore face switched to a serious one, Rosalie automatically straightened her back. Her eyes scanning him with inquisitiveness. “I deem that you’re aware of the muggle war happening?”. Rosalie nodded, “Yes sir, It’s just a fraud because of Grindelwald Army and his hatred towards muggles,”, she answered.

Dumbledore heaved a sigh, his face still at the thought of asking something from a fifteen-year old girl, something as important as this. “Rosalie…”, he called, grasping her attention as her nerves were knitting with anxiety.

“I wouldn’t want to ask this from you, especially as I know how this is going to hurt you and your father is fully against it,”.

The girl gulped, her hands coming to fist on her robes with increasing stress. “a long time ago, I made a blood pact with Grindelwald, that we never fight each other, I have to break it, and the only person that can do that is…”

Rosalie shook her head slowly, “No…No…”, she muttered, Dumbledore nodded, “Yes, yes, It’s your grandmother, Queen Fida,”.

“I won’t do it, I can’t! I’m unable to do it, Professor!”, she refused.

“Rosalie, all you have to do is write her a letter, she will agree, she always agrees to do anything you want, tell her to come here and to help me break it,”.

She shook her head furiously, her hair messing up and coming to hide her face, she turned abruptly. Closing on the tears that threatened to fall, “Rosalie, do it, do it for humanity,”.

She faced him once again, “You want to sacrifice my grandma to undo the spell, this will put her in a dangerous situation!”. Dumbledore gave a sigh and nodded at the girl, “Think about it,” he told her lastly and left the girl to swim in her thoughts.

From an outer perspective, it looked tremendously easy. Still, it wasn’t.

“Miss abella,”.

She raised her head to meet the one, and only, Tom Riddle. Standing to his full height as he watched her with his head raised up. She gave him a small grin, “Good morning, Tom,” she said kindly. Her gentle eyes and soft smile made Tom certain about his decision.

“from tomorrow, we won’t be having any more lessons,” he told her shortly. Standing still, as he waited for her to argue with his sudden decision. But, she didn’t. Rosalie gave him a kind smile, was there anything unkind about this girl? Tom wondered, “I understand, Tom,”.

She kneeled and took the small parchment parcel from beneath her, pushing it to him as she said, “Merry Christmas! I’m not expecting anything back in return,” she added quickly the last part, noticing how his face dropped.

He slowly took it, watching her as she flashed him a kind smile, finally walking past him.

* * *

After few hours, and spontaneously exchanging gifts with her two friends. Rosalie couldn't help but explain her situation to them. She kept staring at the white paper before her. The quill sitting beside the paper as she contemplated how to begin her letter.

Elizabeth behind her, pacing around the Hufflepuff common room. Leo standing beside Rosalie and watching the empty paper as if he would get inspiration from there. “Act as if nothing happened! It won’t be so prude!”, Elizabeth suggested out of the blue, stopping and running next to Rosalie form.

“That is so daft, Rosalie, don’t listen to her”, Leo said instantly before Rosalie could pick up the quill. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, “then start the letter by saying how much you miss her!”, Elizabeth suggested once again. Her eyes widening as she watched Rosalie pick up the quill.

Leo snatched the quill from the brunette hands, “Stop listening to that dippy girl, you need to write a letter that shows you don’t completely forgive her, but you will under a condition, which is to come here!”, Leo elaborated.

Elizabeth gave him a hard look, freeing her arms as she waved at them, “Ugh, whatever! I’m leaving! Find me when you finish”, she quickly left the place, Rosalie standing up as she called her, “Beth! Stay!”.

“let her go, I will have some peace to think of an appropriate beginning,” he said, dismissing Elizabeth that exited the common room. Rosalie slowly sat down at the wooden chair, squeezing her mind to think as well with the boy.

On the other hand, Leo face was heating up. He never was alone with Rosalie since they made up. Her eyes slightly squinting as she looked at the paper with tightened eyes. And when his eyes dropped to look at her pouty lips, he couldn’t help but think the suggestive thought that he wants to hold her face and press a kiss there.

He forced a cough when the girl turned to look at him, “Do you think we should just tell her to come here, and it’s her choice if she wants to help dumbledore or not?”, she asked. Leo nodded at her suggestion, she gave him a warm smile, her smaller hand holding his larger one and squeezing it as she said, “thank you for helping me,”.

Leo forced his lips to curl into a smile, but his heated cheeks turned red. And the brunette quickly detached her hands away, remembering he most likely still had feelings for her. The room stiffened, and the air heated uncomfortably.

Rosalie quickly suggested, “How about you find Elizabeth, and then we can all meet at the owlery and you can lend me your owl?”, the boy agreed to her suggestion, standing up and leaving the Hufflepuff common room.

He glanced at the girl once again, the desire to kiss her was growing each time he looked at her. And taming his actions based on his feelings was getting rougher and highly impossible with them being alone.

But he didn’t want to ruin his beautiful blooming friendship with her, he will have her soon and he can kiss her all he wants; he reassured the small devil in his head.

* * *

A beautiful brown owl landed in the arm of a tall servant, his bald head shined under the scorching sun of the African continent. He took the white envelops from it’s peak, watching it fly once again; it obviously held a letter that didn’t need a respond.

He eyed the letter to read the name of someone he never thought he would ever hear of again, Rosalie. With her cursive handwriting and signature.

_From: Rosalie Z. Abella,_

_To: Fida Abella._

His heart leaped of anxiety, would her small letter bring joy to the castle as it always did? Or will it bring darkness and depression just like her departure affected the queen. He walked stable steps across the glided polished floors of the stunning castle.

The minute he entered the castle, darkness enveloped him, the outside of the castle was opposite from the inside. The growing trees and blooming trees were withering, the fairies that floated around abandoned the place, and all varieties of roses stopped growing, except the only red rose sitting in his queen room.

She tried very hard to keep it alive, However, the only person that could do that abandoned the castle just like the life that left with her. The queen depression was not only affecting him, but it was affecting her only daughter as well.

_He can remember it vividly, Aurelia, Zane’s sister. She screamed at Fida, “You’re obsessed with that filthy half-blood!”, her hand coming to break the glass that contained the dying rose. Fida, glared at her with her bright icy orbs._

_Her henna-tattooed hand holding her daughter’s wrist, Aurelia gulped, retrieving her wrist from her mother’s grasp. “How dare you…”, Fida stated slowly, walking closer to Aurelia, her long dress gliding behind her elegantly._

_“Raise your voice… on me?”, she asked, Aurelia looked away shamefully, but quickly regained her composure as she said calmly at her mother once again, “You’re messing the point her,”. Fida gave a sharp sigh, turning to look at her reflection in the long mirror._

_“She’s different from you, from Canna and from Zane, she has so much love in her heart”._

The servant knocked three times at the Queen’s study, the door opened slowly as he watched the queen sitting at her office, with her hands interlocked tightly. “I see you have a letter for me,”, she said. Inspecting him as he set down the letter before her.

She slowly took it, her face stilling with shock as she recognised the handwriting. Her eyes quickly reading through the short lines that said:

_Hello grandma,_

_Come to Hogwarts._

_Love,_

_Rosalie._

The servant body was heating as Fida’s face was frozen, her eyes widening ever so slightly, and time was ticking louder in his head, that small letter could determine everything. And he hoped it would change it for the better.

“Haris, get the Hippogriffs ready,” she ordered, a smile formed in her face that reached her eyes, and it never happened since the departure of the princess, she added “We’re going to Hogwarts”.

* * *

**The above picture is what I imagine the Abella's castle to look like. I have been very busy with life! but, hopefully now I will post alot quicker! Thank you guys for reading and sorry for keeping you guys wait a long time :(**


	11. Chapter 9: Seducing Tom Riddle.

Chapter 9: Seducing Tom Riddle.

* * *

  
Dumbledore wasn’t surprised when he received a small letter from Fida, stating that she will be arriving at Hogwarts on the morning of the 27th of December. After all, the one who sent her the letter was her Granddaughter, the one she loved the most.

  
For now, Dumbledore decided he will hide everything from Zane. The man was hot-headed and short-tempered, and very protective of his precious daughter. However, telling the news to the traumatized Rosalie was a hard task. He felt shameless when he asked her to not tell her father anything. Besides asking her to write a letter to her grandmother.

  
On the night of the 26th, Rosalie couldn’t close her eyes, not even for half a moment. Her eyes tracing the ceiling of the Gryffindors common room; as she was sleeping over with Elizabeth. Speaking of the blonde Potter, Rosalie turned to face her, seeing as the blonde was wide awake as well.

  
“You can’t sleep?”, she whispered, Elizabeth looked at her, and gave her a small smile, “I’m just thinking about… how your life is just… not what I expected”, Rosalie sighed and watched the ceiling once again, the fireplace flickering slightly as the cold wind was hitting the windows gently.

  
“and what would you do, if you made up with your grandma and she asked you to go back with her”, Elizabeth whispered, her eyes glazing with hurt, the thought of losing the only friend she ever made in Hogwarts breaking her heart.

  
Before Rosalie could say anything, Persephone walking gracefully and standing in the middle of the two girls' bodies laying before the fireplace, Rosalie glanced at the black thread around her half-kneazel leg. She sat up straight as she untied the thread. And unfolding the paper as Elizabeth sat up next to her.

  
_**Meet me in the astronomy tower,** _   
_**T.R** _

  
Elizabeth pupils dilated as she read the small note. “What does he want from you?”, she quickly asked, inspecting the brunette face for any possible tells. Still, the latter shook her head with confusion. “I guess I will have to find out,” she said.

  
“I’m coming with you,” Elizabeth said, Rosalie shook her head, “It’s alright”, Elizabeth sighed and agreed, “fine, I will wait for you by the fat lady portrait until you come back,”. They quickly agreed, Rosalie took her cardigan and draped it over her shoulders. She twisted her curly hair and tucked her wand in the bun.

  
Elizabeth gave her an anxious look as she watched her navigate her way out of the Gryffindor dorms, “Wait for exactly forty-five minutes, if I don’t come back then just go to sleep,” the brunette said sternly, watching Elizabeth give up as she agreed.

  
With Persephone in her arms, Rosalie was ready to leave, she whispered to her white half-kneazel, “why do you spend so much time with Tom? He’s not your owner”, The cat purred in content as she snuggled closer to the brunette chest.

  
It didn’t take her too long to arrive at the Astronomy tower, each step she took, her heart was beating against her ribcage rapidly. Why did Tom want to meet her at this late time? She checked the giant circular clock in the astronomy tower portrayed that it was a few minutes after 2 in the morning.

  
She can see him standing just beside the telescopes, he lifted his head to meet her eyes. He wasn’t wearing his school robes, which Rosalie believed it was her first time seeing him out of the uniform.  
“Hey,” she greeted softly, tucking Persephone inside her arms, to steal some of her warmth in this cold night. “Did you have a strange dream tonight?”, he asked. The girl tilted her head in confusion, “Pardon?”.

  
Tom gave a sharp sigh, closing his eyes for long few moments, “A dream that was so realistic that it was more like a vision,” he explained. The girl's blood ran cold, did he mean her communication with her regretful, alternative self? Tom inspected her, his eyes lightening with relief when he realized he wasn’t the only one.

  
“what was your dream about?”, Rosalie asked him quickly before he could pull out all the information, he wanted from her, it may be a lie, she wasn’t sure. Silence filled in between them, the only thing that was heard the cool air hitting the glass windows of the tower, and Persephone light snores.

  
Tom raised his head and countered, “tell me what was your dream about first,”. The girl gulped and shook her head, “I’m not sure if you want to hear this,”. Tom stopped pressuring her, he suggested, “okay, how about I tell you the main thing of this vision? And you say it at the same time as me?”.

  
The girl gave an individual nod, her throat feeling dry as if she was eating cotton. Tom gestured with his hands in the air when to spill everything,

  
“About us in the future,”  
“About a possible future!”.

  
Rosalie's hand came to cover her mouth with shock, Tom eyes widened with the same feeling as her. “Tell me what your dream was about,” he told her. The girl shook her head, “No, you say it first,” she said.

  
Tom gave an exasperated roll of his eyes, “It didn’t happen yet so we can change the future,” he told the brunette, “besides, I wouldn’t allow myself to ever fall into basic social needs, by having a significant other”. Her eyes widened slightly, “What?”.

  
Tom narrowed his eyes slightly at her, “Didn’t you dream about…us?”, he asked, his suspicions rising at each second the girl shut her mouth and didn’t mutter an explanation. Rosalie realized what was going on, they didn’t have the same dream. She was able to communicate with her self that warned her about his plans.

  
Whilst, Tom had a possible future of them. Rosalie had to lie to him, he is already alarmed about the idea of falling in love and she had to show that it won’t happen, “I did dream about us, but it wasn’t exactly about us… loving each other like you’d say,” Tom interest peaked as he nodded, he caught the bait.

  
“what was it about?”, he questioned, the girl said slowly to make it seem believable, making eye contact and adding body language to her speech, and he was already convinced, “Actually, it was about us fighting, I don’t know what this is supposed to mean… what do you think?”, she explained, finishing her words with innocent eyes and walking closer to him with pure curiosity.

  
Tom stood his ground, watching the girl walk closer to him. “I think it’s about two possible life choices” he answered slowly. Rosalie blinked her lashes, “Then, what do you want it to be? I personally don’t like conflict,”.

  
Tom felt his throat getting dry from the girl's proximity, she was very close he can feel her body warmth and Persephone white snowy fur tickling his abdomen gently. What was she doing? He asked himself, staring deep into her eyes, he truly wanted to understand this strange girl.

  
He wanted to dive into her mind using legilimency, but she will use it against him without him knowing, she will find out about his dark secret and she will expose him. She truly was unpredictable. “Hmm? What do you want it to be?”, she asked softly.  
  
Tom quickly cleared his throat, walking back and making a safe space between them. And, come to think of it, Rosalie for some reason always managed to get closer to him no matter how many barriers he made between them, would this mean the vision he dreamt would be real?

  
“Good night,” he told her and left the Astronomy tower. His mind racing to flow ideas to his core. Would Rosalie's actions and stubborn personality make her be a stable part of his life? Would she fill him with her love? The fact that the idea wasn’t that repulsive to him makes him angry, in his vision Rosalie held his face between her hands affectionately.

  
Kissing each of his eyelids, the dream was very vivid he could smell her sweet natural scent and her perfume. Her hands were warm against his cold cheeks, he could see the beautiful sparkle in her deep eyes. And, maybe it wasn’t that bad, maybe he should just let her inside his heart.

  
He took a sharp halt, furiously shaking his head, and throwing the idea of his head. He won’t allow it to happen, it can’t happen, and it won’t happen.

* * *

On the morning of the 27th, Dumbledore stood outside the snowy Hogwarts grounds along with Headmaster Dippet. Rosalie and her two friends waited inside the long corridor inside the castle, Elizabeth desperately trying to calm down her nerves and Rosalie’s.

  
“Calm down, you got this!” she hissed, her hands furiously rubbing Rosalie’s arms. Leo stood awkwardly in front of them, “Do you think she will like me?”, he asked Rosalie. Elizabeth rolled her eyes, “Why don’t you just disappear already? I want her to like me, not you, you can just go hit your head in one of the many glorious walls of- oh merlin, she’s here!”.

  
Rosalie turned to watch whoever caught Elizabeth’s attention, and she was true, it was her very grandma in her flesh next to her ridiculously tall bodyguard, Haris. Rosalie thought that her grandma still looked just like how she remembers, with her fancy long dresses that glided behind her, and her robes that complimented her fancy dresses perfectly.

  
The black henna tattoos looked very pretty on her small hands, her long braided hair was elegantly in a pretty hairstyle. The only thing that was missing, was the golden halo crown. “She’s so beautiful!”, Elizabeth hissed to Rosalie, violently shaking her arms.

  
Rosalie jumped out from her thoughts, noticing her grandmother’s gentle look to her. “her eyes are so blue, it’s like looking at the sky,” Elizabeth whispered again, straightening her back as she watched Fida approach them. Rosalie met her halfway through the distance.

  
The older woman smiled uncomfortably, “How have you been?”, she asked softly. Rosalie fisted her black robes, as she remained silent because if she talked all she would do was bawl her eyes out. Fida sighed, Rosalie probably wouldn’t ever forgive her, and in all reality, she didn’t blame her, she choked her.

  
“I see you’re in Hufflepuff, the colors fit you perfectly,” Fida said, her eyes lifting to meet Elizabeth’s and Leo's faces, “I see you’ve made friends as well, I’m not surprised, you’re a lovely girl,” she said.  
Elizabeth quickly walked to the older woman, bowing a bit too dramatically, “It’s my absolute pleasure to meet you!”, she chanted, making Fida, Dumbledore, and Headmaster Dippet chuckle at her. “It’s a pleasure to meet a friend of my granddaughter,”.

  
“My name is Elizabeth Potter”, she introduced herself, fully straightening her back, Fida grinned and said, “you must tell me how you met Rosalie later,”. The blonde agreed, then she gently tapped Rosalie’s back, “You told me you miss her, then why aren’t you saying anything?”.

  
Elizabeth gave Rosalie a gentle stern look, Fida eyes widened at Elizabeth’s words, her granddaughter missed her? Didn’t she hate her? The brunette gave a tight-lipped smile and nodded at the blonde. Elizabeth urged her by gesturing with her jaw at Fida, “now, don’t be shy,”.

  
“It’s good to see you again, Mamita”, Rosalie whispered, her voice quivering. Before Fida could come down from her shock, all she felt was the warm embrace of Rosalie. The brunette busted crying loudly, her arms tightening around Fida’s neck.

  
The only thing on Fida’s mind was: how could she forgive her this quickly? She intended to kill her that night. Yet, Rosalie still loves her. Fida was certain now, Rosalie does have lots of love in her heart.  
Fida patted Rosalie’s back and waited for her to stop crying. It didn’t take very long for the girl to force her tears back inside, and parted from her grandma, with a smile on her lips she wiped her tears. Hiccups pausing her speech, but, she still managed to point at Leo and say, “That’s Leo, he’s a good friend of mine,”.

  
Fida looked at him, “a pleasure to meet you,” he said, Fida gave him a curt nod. She didn’t truly trust boys with Rosalie, but she decided she will stay silent for now. Rosalie gave Haris a wide grin and said, “It’s good to see you too, Haris”. The man blinked his eyes at her with a friendly smile.

  
Silence filled between them, only Rosalie occasional hiccups were heard. Dumbledore came closer to Fida, stretching his hand for her to take and said politely, “Allow me to lead the way,”.  
She gracefully placed her hand inside his, and nodded, finally reminded of her quest. And she felt empowered, especially after learning that her granddaughter doesn’t hate her.

* * *

Elizabeth clenched the sleeves of her robes as she grinned widely at the book in front of her. She quickly shut it and said, “Isn’t your grandma just the best?”. Rosalie smiled and nodded at her, the blonde began to elaborate happily, “She’s very charismatic! And very nice too! I think she likes me,”.

  
Leo slightly frowned and said, “I don’t think she’s very fond of me”. They were currently sitting inside the Ravenclaw common room, reading books to prepare for their O.W.L.S, the idea was brought up from Leo that insisted they study this day.

  
Rosalie gave him a gentle stare, “That’s not true, what makes you think that?”, Leo frown deepened, was he the only one that noticed the Queen’s cold look to him? She didn’t even bother to greet him warmly as she did to Elizabeth.

  
The blonde chewed on her cookie, narrowing her eyes at Leo suspiciously. When the topic died, Leo returning to his book and so did Rosalie. Elizabeth whispered to Leo, “Of course she wouldn’t like you, have you seen the way you were looking at her granddaughter? It’s like you’re undressing her with your eyes,”

  
His saliva stuck in his throat, he forced a cough while glaring at Elizabeth. The girl shrugged her shoulders at him with pursed lips. Rosalie handed him a cup of water, she asked them, “what happened?”.

  
“nothing, Leo just forgot how to breathe,” the blonde said with a slight chuckle. Leo's face flushed, with shame and the lack of oxygen pumping to his system, it wasn’t convincing to Rosalie. So, Elizabeth stood up, and offered, “Hey! The weather isn’t so cold outside, let’s play with snow!”.

  
Rosalie quickly shut her books, scrambled up off her seat, “okay! I will go get ready and let’s meet up at the exit in fifteen minutes!” when the Ravenclaw door was shut closed, Leo stood up and told Elizabeth sternly, “I do not look at her like that! That’s very rude of you to assume!”.

  
Elizabeth stood up as well, gave him an inspecting look before her face broke into a grin, “I was only joking of course,”. Leo raised his jaw and looked at the shorter girl, “you said it very proudly it doesn’t seem like a joke”.

  
“well, of course, I just wanted you to know I’m not daft, and I’m very aware of your advances towards Rosalie, no matter how many times she tells you that she doesn’t see you in that way,” She stated, watching Leo's eyes harden towards her, he always saw her as someone violent and ridiculously foolish. But the hard look in her eyes proved something else.

  
She then inspected him up and down and collected her belongings before dashing out of the Ravenclaw common room. Leo stood there with shook apparent on his face.

* * *

Fifteen minutes was underestimating to the trip from the Ravenclaw tower towards the Hufflepuff basement. And, with the school being empty from students, it felt a bit lonely to Rosalie. Even if Ariadne did nothing but be mean towards her, she had to admit, she missed her presence.

  
And the fact that she hadn’t seen Persephone from the morning was making her wonder if she should be concerned, the feline loved Tom and spent lots of time with him. But, not visiting Rosalie for even half an hour in the six hours she was gone, it was abnormal.

  
Come to think about it, Rosalie hadn’t seen Tom all morning. That did mean that the cat with him. She decided, for now, she will send a note to Elizabeth explaining that she’s looking for her cat. And, that she will join her and Leo later to play outside.

  
She did that, and she began her journey to look for possible places her cat would be there. First of all, her cat adored the Slytherin dorms, she was fully aware that Tom is almost always there. So, she took confident steps there.

  
“have you seen a cat? It’s a half Persian cat with white fur, she’s about this size”, Rosalie described to the painting, the renaissance woman shook her head slightly, the portrait of the knight beside her told Rosalie, “I think I saw a cat with a male student, you know, the one that always talks with the grey lady,”.

  
The brunette mind raced, were they talking about Tom Riddle? Does he always talk with the grey lady? What did he even want from her? Did they have anything in common? However, Rosalie decided to drop the topic. And that she will wait for her cat to come back to her, instead of looking for her.

  
Rosalie re-united with her two friends back at the exterior of the castle. They were building a snowman until Rosalie curiosity got the best of her, “do you guys know who the Grey lady is?”. She asked, her voice imitating the voice of a mother trying to get information out of her children.

  
Elizabeth raised a confused eyebrow, “I have no idea, she’s just a ghost here, isn’t she?”. Leo cleared his throat, “She is the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw, her name is Helena. I believe she ran away and stole the diadem from her mother,” he concluded.

  
“That’s an old children’s tale, Leo, we can’t be sure,” Elizabeth told him dismissively, Rosalie's interest peaked, “the diadem? What’s that?”. Elizabeth gave a sharp sigh, turning her head towards Leo so he could tell his story, “Rowena had a wisdom diadem, allegedly, the person wearing it gains wisdom and wit,”

  
Elizabeth gestured dismissively, “but it’s all just rumors, Rowena insisted that she still has the diadem and that Helena never stole it,” Leo rolled his eyes and said, “but people are still looking for it”,  
“well that’s because they don’t want to see the fact, Rowena said she had it!”, Elizabeth argued, her voice becoming a tone louder.

  
Leo stopped building the snowman, and glared at her, “The diadem is still with Helena, everybody knows that and everyone is searching for it!”, his voice becoming louder and deeper, more like a growl of a lion.

  
“It’s been centuries! No one ever found it since it was lost!”, Elizabeth screamed.

  
Rosalie stood between them, her hand steadying their arms from lunging towards their wands and start hexing each other, “Woah! What’s gotten to you guys?! Fighting over a legend? I’m utterly shocked! You guys are friends! You shouldn’t let stupid things such as arguments get between you!”, she scolded, her eyes turning to meet their furious orbs.

  
“She/He started it!”, they said in unison, both shooting daggers at each other, once they realized they had said the same thing. “This is unbelievable! We were having a good time! If you guys don’t solve everything by dinnertime I’m not talking to both of you,”.

  
“Rose! What? You can’t just do that!”, Elizabeth argued, the brunette shook her head adamantly, “I really don’t see any proper explanation for your fight, except that it was a small disagreement, and I don’t want you guys ending friendships over silly things like that, now if you excuse me”

  
With that, the brunette navigated her way towards her dormitory. She needed a breather, everything flowing chaotically in her brain and her life was unbelievable. She had to change the plans of the future dark lord by making him fall in love with her, and that didn’t seem to be going very well. And she had to search for Merope Gaunt, her mother’s best friend that disappeared 16 years ago without a trace.

  
In addition to that, she has to find out why is Tom Riddle talking with the Grey lady when he gives her the cold shoulder. And, now it’s her friends turn to act childish when she thought they would ease her brain out of the heavy responsibilities above her shoulders. Speaking of the devil, the minute she reached the basement, she was met face to face with Tom holding her Persian feline.

  
He watched her slumped shoulders and the slight pout in her lips, slightly narrowing his eyes at her, “What is it now?”, he asked her. She glanced up at him, “Don’t worry about it,”.  
“I’m not worried, I have no care for you whatsoever,” he said sternly, and rather quickly as if he was denying that fact to himself more than to her. Rosalie glanced at the scarf around his neck, it was the one she knitted for him.

  
Tom noticed her stare and the soft smile that formed in her lips, he cleared his throat and tightened his eyes at her, stretching his arms and gently putting Persephone in her arms, “and, could you tell your cat to stop coming to me? It’s getting very tiring dealing with her,”

  
“Why? She seems to like you very much, grandma told me once that good wizards are liked by animals” she said, stroking the fur of Persephone. Tom watched her do that, “I heard your grandmother is here, you didn’t tell me she would come, especially after what she did to you,”.

  
Rosalie slightly tilted her head, “would you listen if I told you about personal stories and news in my life?”, she asked gently, her voice becoming slower in the last part. Tom's eyes slightly widened, “don’t I always hear you ramble about your previous life in Uagadou?”.

  
Her oxford heels echoed in the empty corridors next to Hufflepuff dorms entry, as she walked closer to him. And, once again, trapping him with her magic, she truly was charming, he thought a bit unsubtly in his head, but he shook the idea away, but that doesn’t give her the right to be this friendly to him.

  
She won’t reach his heart, and he won’t allow it. He reassured himself, yet the vision of his hands roaming around her bare body as she was underneath him, her eyes sparkling with adoration and pure love. Was his vision the possible future? He asked himself.

  
But he didn’t want to end up like his mother, his muggle father that didn’t hesitate to leave his pregnant mother. Love wasn’t real, it was just projectiles from his brain because of imprudent lusting hormones, he truly believed that this was the idea of love.

  
She whispered, “this isn’t what I asked, Tom,”.

  
Rosalie truly couldn’t believe herself, was she actually trying to seduce Tom Riddle? Using cheap skills she saw Canna try on one of the guards; she was convinced she could make everyone fall in love with her.

  
Before Tom can say anything, Rosalie's cheeks flushed, she shook her head and backed away, “you’re right, you wouldn’t listen, I- I have to go. Good night,” Rosalie said, “it’s only five in the evening,” Tom commented, raising his wrist as he looked at his watch.

  
“I know, I just don’t feel so good,” she said, backing away more when he stepped closer to her, “you were playing in the snow, of course, you will get sick,”. He said, his hand coming to measure her temperature in her cheek.

  
Her face was extremely soft, it reminded him of when Mrs. Cole gave him that infant to hold while she was tending to another one, as the other caretaker was running late. Rosalie’s face was abnormally warm, in a good way.

  
And when he came out to reality, he saw how close he was to her; his knees were touching her thighs and he can feel her breath fanning in his collarbone. Her eyes wide open as she looked at him with utter disbelief. He can clearly see his reflection in her dark eyes, and he noticed the small mole in her upper lip. They did look soft as well. And the ability to think suddenly left his mind.

* * *

**Feedback is always appreciated :D So, I wanted to calrify somethings, Fida eyes are blue but there's a reason for that, you will learn it very soon in the upcoming chapters. Tom is having visions to his alternative future, just like how Rosalie is seeing her alternative self trying to warn her and communicate with her, he's having visions. I will explain it more in upcoming Chapters to why he's having those visions.**

**Elizabeth knows Leo feelings to Rosalie, and she's angry because Rosalie did tell him that she doesn't like him that way, and he hurt her few times, so she's afraid that he will hurt Rosalie again.**


	12. Chapter 10: Cupid's arrow.

**Chapter 10: Cupid's arrow.**

* * *

Tom instantly backed away from Rosalie, her heart was beating very fast to the point Persephone woke up from her slumber. Whilst Tom had a disordered look in his face. But he quickly replaced his shock by an indifferent expression.

  
He watched Rosalie mutter a quick farewell and knock on the barrels to enter her dorms. When the barrels came back to their original place, Tom exhaled a deep sigh he thought he held in the first place.

  
His mind was flowing him with pictures from his vision, that he truly wanted to make himself believe that it made him angry. But, it didn’t. Rosalie wasn’t annoying like the rest, she is quite observant; it was something he made himself believe he hated.

  
Dinner time approached, Rosalie found herself unable to fall asleep, when she truly needed to rest; her mind was very disorganized and filled with many thoughts. Reluctantly, she picked up herself and fixed her robes that creased from her laying in her bed.

  
The long trip to the great hall looked relatively short to her, especially with her brain jumbled with thoughts. With everything that is going on, Tom Riddle added up to the cluster of thoughts there. And, was he worried about her?

  
And, what’s with the shine in his eyes, that showed he didn’t particularly dislike her as she’d thought? She was pried from her thoughts by her grandmother that placed her warm hand on her shoulder, “Good evening, dear”.

  
Rosalie glanced at Fida, then gave her a small grin, “Hey, mamita.” The older woman scanned Rosalie’s face features. To Fida, Rosalie is a great liar, but, she can figure out whenever she lied from her small tells, such as avoiding eye-contact.

  
So, Fida's hand tightened around the girl's shoulder, “is there something that’s bothering you, my dear?”. Rosalie's face stilled, her grandmother always gave her that look when she wanted to figure out something from her, as Fida, truly hated having secrets.

  
Before Rosalie can answer, Elizabeth came to the rescue, snatching the girl from her grandmother's heavy hand, and hugging her very tightly, “Rose! I know I’ve been very childish to Leo today, and I can’t promise you that I won’t do it again! Because he’s a git-“

  
“Hey!”, Leo interrupted her. The blonde ignored him and finished her speech, “But I will at least try not to be mean to him!”. Fida's face quickly switched to break into a smile, and soon it turned to a giggle, “aren’t you a bunch of wild souls?”, she asked.

  
Elizabeth looked up at Fida and quickly apologized dramatically for being loud. Professor Slughorn joined them and patted Elizabeth’s and Leo’s shoulders roughly, “Those two share my Potions lesson, and they fight like a cat and mouse, daily”.

  
Fida giggle intensified and covered it by her hand. “Why don’t I tell you about your Uagadou houses?”, she told them, when they agreed she took both of them by their shoulders and made them sit on either side of her at the circular dinner table.

  
When the dinner table filled, and the other remaining professors and students came, the food bloomed in the golden utensils. Elizabeth quickly said between munching the Cornish pastry, “So, your highness! Which house will I be in?”.

  
The queen turned to look at her and slightly narrowed her eyes as she began thinking, “Geda house, it contains students that have natural leadership skills, people that knew how to manage each quirk of each person. people that know how to control and use power well, They only follow their morals and usually have one loyalty to one thing. They are very kind, They often have good morals, They are the kind of people to go to rescue you from something. These are the kind of people to hold a sword to your chest with a smile. The house symbol is Fire.”.

  
Elizabeth grinned widely, “That’s very nice and very accurate!”. The queen nodded her head, “Yes, after all, I’m the one that’s in charge of classifying students there, besides very great judges”. Leo awkwardly hummed and asked, his voice above a whisper, “what about me? Your highness?”.

  
The queen looked at his side and gave him a warm smile, that he forgot that she gave him the cold shoulder earlier, “Alli house, it contained clever students, very cunning but very loyal. Their actions speak louder than words, They are very practical, They have questionable morals sometimes and they will do anything to pursue their morals. They are the people you will go to fight with you. natural warriors. They are the type of people to hold a sword next to you or the type to hold a sword to your back. you will know if you're important to them, they're blunt but only cunning if they had something or someone to protect. Their house symbol is water”.

  
Leo’s face slightly blushed as he agreed with Fida’s precise judgment. Her words were the truth and they matched his personality perfectly. He turned to look at Rosalie to find her smiling at him as she mouthed: see? She doesn’t hate you.

  
Professor Slughorn was watching the whole situation, before he asked the Queen, “what about Tom? Which house do you think he belongs in?”.

“who’s Tom? You’ve been telling me about him this whole morning and I’m very intrigued to meet a student like him,” Fida said, her eyes scanning the few students, Tom told her, “I’m Tom Riddle, very noble for you to think this way, your highness,”.

  
Fida stare lingered on him for a while, narrowing her eyes at him. Her light icy orbs were making Tom slightly concerned, it’s like she knew everything about him. However, Fida grinned and answered, “Uos house, it contained students who are very Creative, their minds are very colorful and imaginative. They're very timid and introverted, They're very resourceful. They don't have any loyalty, they're the grey area. They're very observant, They rarely speak but when they do everyone listens. They are the type of people to shoot an arrow from somewhere you can't see. Their actions are often very calculated. Their house symbol is a moon hidden by a thick cloud”.

  
Tom gave her a curt nod, “thank you,” he said. The woman shook her head kindly, “what about Rosalie? What was her previous house?”. Professor Slughorn asked, a bit loudly and watched Tom glance at Rosalie before he acted as if he wasn’t paying attention.

  
The brunette gave a tight chuckle, her face switching to be uncomfortable. She knew her grandmother would bring up her moving back to Uagadou, claiming it’s safer for her and better for her royal education.

  
“Oras house, it contained very impulsive students, They're feelers and soulful people, They treasure emotions and are very optimistic, They think with their hearts. They sympathies a lot and to everything, they can and will sympathies with evil humans, they are very emotionally intelligent. They are very flexible and understanding. They are the type of people to hide with you. They don't have morals except finding somewhere where everyone is happy. Their house symbol is a thornful rose.”.

  
Elizabeth gasped and nodded her head roughly, “that does sound like Rosalie! Even the house symbol is similar to her necklace!”. Fida laughed, “yes! It suits her just perfectly,” and she turned to give Rosalie a kind smile. But the brunette just felt nervous, this means that her grandmother will bring up the topic of moving back with her.

* * *

  
Rosalie’s assumptions were correct, the older woman did ring up the subject a few days later. Seeing her with her friends sitting in the library as they read through the heavy required subjects for the O.W.L.s.

  
She sat next to them for thirty minutes as she explained to Elizabeth about Herbology. Then her eyes lingered on them, “Rosalie, there’s an important matter I would like to discuss with you,”. She said and stood up to the quiet corner of the library, Rosalie followed her, seeing Elizabeth give her a knowing look.

  
Fida stared at Rosalie for a long while, her hands grasping Rosalie’s, then she broke the news, “Come back to Uagadou with me, your father may not agree but I believe he will respect your decision,” Rosalie pressed her lips tightly as her eyes turned to look at Elizabeth and Leo that were heavily studying.

  
“in Uagadou you will get personal lessons from me about magic, so you can rule our nation fairly, just like we all expect from you,” Fida reasoned, her eyes inspecting Rosalie’s uncertain orbs. “and your friends, you will visit them each holiday, what do you think? Will, you come back home?”.

  
Rosalie swallowed her saliva heavily as she closed her eyes for a long moment, she wasn’t sure, she is a princess and her duty is to learn how to be a strong witch so she can be a reliable queen; just like her grandmother.

  
But she has an important duty here, to make sure Tom doesn’t become the future dark lord. Thankfully, Fida got the signal and said reassuringly, “You can take as much time as you want, and whatever decision you will take your father and I will respect”.

* * *

With that, many days passed, and the first of January approached rather quickly. The winter break finished, spring approached as the snow melted, and Fida still hadn’t found a way to break the blood pact.

  
Apart from awkward mealtimes, Rosalie never saw Tom, he stopped bringing Persephone back. Deep down, they were thankful they didn’t have to start a conversation. It was very uncomfortable since that day.

  
The Gryffindors won against the Ravenclaws in Quidditch. Elizabeth never stopped teasing Leo about how beating his house was a piece of cake, but the boy just ignored her and completed reading his work.

  
When June approached, the O.W.L.S came. And Rosalie was very busy studying that she didn’t bother about thinking of her problems for a while. It was only when she finished the last test that she stared at Tom in utter shock, she wasted so much time, did she perhaps forget that he still has his dark plans? She scolded herself.

  
Luckily, Fida broke the blood pact successfully, with minimal damage. And the war between Dumbledore and Grindelwald began. Rosalie told her grandmother that she will not be going back to Uagadou. When Elizabeth heard the news she forced a sad look on her face, but the smile itching it’s way to her lips exposed her façade. As for Leo, the dark blush on his cheeks said more than necessary.

  
Summer wasn’t as Rosalie expected it to be, she thought she would get to spend time with her father. But Zane has been busy by locating Grindelwald supporters and throwing them in Azkaban. Rosalie truly wasn’t complaining, she received a weekly letter from Elizabeth and Leo. And she sent them those as well.

  
Everything began when her father took her to a small village called: Little Hangelton, he told her that her mother lived here in the very cottage they currently reside in. The cottage was isolated from the village, it was a small cobblestoned cabin with a small garden surrounding it.

  
Rosalie devoted her time to tending that garden, that grew mostly roses but it still bloomed with other types of plants. In the morning, she would go to the village market, buy ingredients for cooking. Prepare her meals, clean, look through her mother’s bedroom that she owned now.

  
And finally, in the evenings, she would read the daily letters from Leo and Elizabeth and reply to them.

  
Today didn’t look very different from her other day, she finished her routine, then sat under the candle and read Elizabeth scribbled letter.

  
_**Dear Rosalie,** _

_**Your father is protective, I believe if he had the choice to put you in his pocket and go on with his life, he would!** _   
_**Jokes aside, he’s right, though. Grindelwald followers are going insane, mother told me Diagon alley is deserted now with the war going on.** _   
_**She reckons if Dumbledore doesn’t defeat Grindelwald, Hogwarts may not open again, she said all the parents are concerned about the safety of their children and sending daily howlers to Hogwarts.** _   
_**Anyways, as you know, The Hornby’s live close to us and they keep visiting us nonstop because, Fleamont my brother asked Euphemia to marry him, they're currently engaged, but I believe they will get married a bit later as Fleamont is working on this big project. So this basically means I have a sister in law now. And The Hornby’s are fond of Parties.** _   
_**It’s sickening to see him every day instead of you, and his annoying sister, Olive, merlin.** _   
_**I wish you lived close to me and we had lovely sleepovers, my mom is dying to meet you, she keeps asking me if you can come to stay over, but I told her your father refused.** _   
_**Weirdly, even Leo's parents want to meet you, his mom is very nice and she gets along well with mom, unlike her offspring. I attached a picture of last night's party, don’t you think Euphemia is beautiful?** _   
_**I do miss Hogwarts as well, and I miss you, write back soon.** _

  
_**Yours,** _   
_**Elizabeth.** _

By the time Rosalie shut the letter, her wide smile was still in her face. She missed her friends, and she wished she sees them sooner. For now, she will wait patiently. But, her eyes fell on the clock, the sun fully set and the thick clouds enveloped the moon.

  
Still, Persephone wasn’t seen anywhere. Rosalie was aware the cat loved chasing garden gnomes, but, she would usually get bored of doing that, and soon she would return home. But, to be frank, the cat left the house from the early morning, Rosalie saw her playing.

  
Rosalie's heart began to throb loudly, with her eyes glued to the small window looking at the back of the forest. Persephone still wasn’t spotted. So, the girl decided to do the right thing; she will look for the cat. Whilst quickly picking up her hood cape, she left the house in a hurry.

  
With the moonlight slightly appearing between the thick clouds, Rosalie navigated her way around. Her mind racing terrible possible scenarios, her fear of a predator consuming her cat was greater than fear for her safety.

  
At a moment like this, with her concern building up. Grindelwald army can go to hell, she’s worried about her cat, and she will find her. “Persephone! Persephone!”, she cried.  
In another place yet the same time, Persephone is very much well, she was closely snuggled to her other beloved human; Tom Riddle. He wasn’t sure how she found him, and the idea of her owner living in the same village was his muggle father and his maternal extended family.

  
“How do you always find me?”, he hissed at the cat. Watching Rosalie scream between the thick branches. His plan was simple, he would go to his maternal family and demand information. He will watch the Riddle family, and he will kill each one of them.

  
But the cat ruined everything, He wanted to leave Persephone for Rosalie to find, so she wouldn’t see him. However, the half-kneazel had different opinions, she clung to him tightly as if her life depended on that.

  
“Persephone! Please come back home!”, He watched Rosalie scream, every now and then she would wipe the tears that rolled down her cheeks, Tom hissed at the cat, once again trying to push her away from him, “Go to her! Do you like seeing your owner cry from concern?”.

  
Still, Persephone happily purred, and licked on her paw, as she watched him with her wide eyes. Usually, animals would do everything he wanted, but Persephone never listened to him or acted upon his expectations, ironic; just like her owner.

  
With her hair flying behind her gracefully, the beige-colored hood cape flowing elegantly. How's she always gorgeous? everything about her was beautiful, and her dark skin shined under the moon rays, she looked stunning. despite the tears wetting her cheeks, he didn't want to admit to the small voice in his heart, that told him how much he desired to wipe her tears away.

  
this reminded him of his visions that keep intensifying each night, was it ordinary to dream of someone this much? and each time he would ignore those visions, they would become more intimate. Which only made him hate the girl more, she's even in his dreams. Every little thing in his life reminded him of her, and he hated that more than anything.

  
He should be focusing on creating Horcruxes, not fantasizing about Rosalie.

  
Tom tightened his eyes at the figure creeping behind Rosalie, he stood up and neared them. The figure held out a wand, could that be his supposed uncle? His curiosity was fulfilled with the man behind Rosalie speaking up, “Victoria?”.

  
Rosalie flinched, she turned quickly to look at the man facing her back. “is that you Victoria?!”, the man hollered, stepping a large step to face Rosalie. She backed away and searched for her wand in her pockets, it wasn’t there, she must’ve forgotten it with her heavy anxiety to find Persephone.

  
“Kind sir, I’m not Victoria,” Rosalie answered, mastering a look so she doesn’t look very scared. The man still pointed his wand at her, he shook his head slowly, “No, No, It’s you Victoria!”, He protested.  
Everything clicked now, this must be Morfin Gaunt, Merope abusive brother, he must’ve thought she looked like Victoria, her mother. Still, she didn’t let her guard down, she had to leave this place, he looked very drunk to function well, and, he’s abusive, he wouldn’t mind hexing her.

  
She contemplated the possible escape routes, turning Animagi would be impossible, he was in a close distance to her. Using wandless magic is impossible as well, she knows mostly healing spells and small hexes that wouldn’t do anything to him.

  
He would follow her back to her cottage and eventually kill her. She can’t escape him, she will die at the hands of the same man that abused her mother’s best friend. She will die away from her loved ones and will die always worrying at the whereabouts of Persephone.

  
She will die without fulfilling any of her duties, to stop the future dark lord plans, or to rule her nation. She will die pathetically. Tears dropped, she didn’t bother to wipe them. “You… filthy muggle! You were the one that told her to leave!”.

  
Her anger bubbled inside her heart, if she’s going to die, she might as well put him back to his place, one last time. “You were the one that abused Merope! I encouraged her to escape, and I would do it again!”.

  
Morfin blinked slowly, once her words settled in his drunken state, he took her from a fistful of her hair, her knees touching the dirt, and pointed his wand at her face. This was it, she will die. Rosalie told herself.

  
But before she can fathom what was happening, Morfin fell to the ground all of a sudden. His wand dropping next to him, She scrambled up to look at what was happening. Her eyes fell on Tom, his hand raised as he held a heavy rock in his hand. Persephone twirling at his feet.

  
Rosalie's brain stopped flowing with thoughts, and for once, her mind didn’t stop her from being insanely impulsive. She stood up quickly, throwing her body to Tom’s, hugging him tightly and crying into his chest.

  
For now, she will let her pride and dignity away. She will cry freely; she wouldn’t worry about Tom seeing her shed tears. Her grasp around him tightened, and her body jerked violently, she wouldn’t let go, not right now. To her surprise, she felt Tom's arms slowly envelope her.

  
With that, she sunk inside him deeper, she felt all his warmth and heard his heartbeats, his hand patting her head, awkwardly. Yet, Rosalie didn’t complain, and after long minutes of crying. She peeled her body away from his.

  
Rosalie’s eyes met his dark orbs, cupid aimed his arrow right in her heart, her brain operated one thought, as her heart quickened insanely, her core bloomed with flowers. His presence is very big in her core, and she can’t doubt her feelings, not even for a second. She fell in love, Rosalie is sure of it, she never felt this way before, he’s the one. Maybe her alternative self was right, maybe Tom isn’t as evil as she paints him.

* * *

**The devil works fast, but I work faster! I hope you liked today's chapter :D Feedback is always appreciated <3**

**Fleamont and Euphemia are James Potter parents. and the picture above is what I imagine Victoria's cottage to look like.**

**in the following chapter, I will jump into the alternative Rosalie and the reason why she isn't appearing in Rosalie's dreams anymore, I will also address the reason why Tom is having those visions. so, stay tuned!**


	13. Chapter 11: Alternative worlds.

Chapter 11: Alternative worlds.

* * *

Tom took Rosalie’s arms away from his body, the girl quickly backed away slightly. Her heart still beating crazily and her stomach fluttering with butterflies, they stared at each other for long moments.  
“are you okay?”, Tom asked, Rosalie quickly nodded and dusted her cape from the soil that caked on her knees. She collected Persephone before fully standing up, “What are you doing here?”, Tom asked her. She gave him a small grin, “shouldn’t I be asking you that question? I live here,”.

  
The boy narrowed his eyes, and crossed his arms as he demanded a reason, “Why?”. Rosalie bit her lower lip as she frowned, but she gave in to his demands, “My mom used to live here”. Tom looked slightly convinced, and more relaxed, after proving they’re not here to pry after the Riddle family. And considering Rosalie's clueless eyes, she still has no idea about the Riddle household.

  
And, he’s thankful for that, he doesn’t want her to know he’s a half-blood or he was the child of the woman she was looking for. “why didn’t you go back with your grandma? You seemed to be on good terms”.

  
“I… I decided to stay,” she answered, “why?”, Tom asked once again, stepping closer to her. Rosalie shut her mouth as she looked at him, he was acting very odd. It was as if he was hiding something. So, she trusted her heart and asked him, “what are you hiding from me?”.

  
“Nothing, what makes you think that?”, Tom answered, it looked very convincing, but the heavy feeling in her abdomen made her feel that it wasn’t right, “just a feeling” she muttered. Then placed Persephone on the ground, stretched her hand to Tom, “but it’s very good to see you,”.

  
Tom stared at her hand for a while, without shaking it, so she closed her hand and retrieved it to her as the blush on her face thickened, “well, thank you for saving me earlier,”. She said and lifted Persephone to her chest once again.

  
She wanted to invite him for dinner, but the hard look on his face told her he didn’t want to spend one more second with her. It was hurtful because she wanted to spend even a few more seconds with him. But, she shouldn’t stay for long if he didn’t want her to be around him, so the girl grinned and said, “see you in Hogwarts,”.

  
She turned on her heel before she could leave Tom stopped her, “I need floo powder,”. Rosalie looked at him, “I have some in my cottage, please do come,”. Tom followed her, the moon shined at the forest and the trees looking upon the small pond that had large lotus leaves.

  
Everything looked peaceful, and to some extent, Rosalie looked at the far future. She wasn’t great at Quidditch like Elizabeth or gifted like Leo, she had to train to perfect her skills. She truly saw that she was unfit to rule a whole nation, Canna would do so much better than her or Aurelia.

  
They were both logical and practical, and they were both in the Geda house, they had natural leadership skills. Everyone in her family belonged to the Geda house, except her, that was in Oras' house. And her whole family animagi form were lions. Except her who was a panther, why is she always the odd duck? Rosalie wondered.

  
When they reached her cottage, Rosalie snapped out of her thoughts and entered inside the cottage, forgetting that she forgot to blow on the candles with her fright about Persephone. She set the cat on the floor and watched her go sit in her basket as she prepared herself for a much-needed rest.

  
“Right, floo powder,” Rosalie said and headed to the fireplace next to her small kitchenette. Tom's eyes wandered around the interior of the cottage. Everything looked very cozy, and flower wreaths decorated most of the walls. Vines were reaching from the open kitchen window. There were only two doors shut and only one fully open door. From his angle he can see that it contained a bed and a small study, this must be Rosalie’s bedroom.

  
He looked back at Rosalie that was putting the green powder from a fabric bag into a small pot, when she finished, she stood up and handed him the pot. And dusted her hand, while she looked at him stand at the fireplace.

  
With the warm-lit candles, her beige-colored cape hood, and the light blue dress underneath it. The interior of the cottage, everything about it looked welcoming and nurturing. He watched Persephone stand up from her woven basket, and come to face him along with Rosalie.

  
Strangely, the cat was giving him sad looks and meowing with a hint of sadness. Rosalie held onto her and chuckled, “Dear! We will see him in Hogwarts”. The cat still made the sad noises, and a thought in his mind asked him how did the cat prefer him over Rosalie?

  
She is loving and warm. “would you stay for tea?”, Rosalie asked him hopefully, the twinkle in her eyes returned fiercely, even Persephone turned to look at him as if she was expecting an answer from him. “I have to get back to the Orphanage, they will notice my absence”.

  
The twinkle vanished from her eyes, she nodded and said, “yeah, well, I will see you at Hogwarts”. Tom stared at her for a while longer, he did notice a few things that changed about her appearance since he last saw her in Hogwarts.

  
Her hair had gotten slightly longer, and she did gain a few centimeters to her height. But she will always be shorter than him. Until his eyes fell at the portrait behind her head, he stepped out of the fireplace, pointed at it, and demanded, “who’s that?”.

  
The portrait was of a woman that looked very much like Rosalie, this must be Victoria, the only difference was her hair was much shorter, and she looked like she would be taller than Rosalie. She had a large smile on her face, as she wrapped her arm around a taller woman, her back was slouched, but it was easy to tell who was taller. She had darker hair and her eyes looked at different directions.  
Rosalie glanced at where his eyes were looking, “Oh! This is my mother and her best friend in the whole world, Merope Gaunt!”.

* * *

The air was thick with cold humid, the mixture in the atmosphere was uncomfortable and bone-chilling. Everyone is already terrified, Voldemort was terrorizing the nearby villages. “Don’t come back until you get her to me, Alive”, a man said, his dark cape covering his head.

  
The strange-looking death eaters around him flowed to look through the village, killing each person they countered that wasn’t fitting the descriptions of the lady their lord told them. It wasn’t difficult, find a woman that had a scar extended from her cheek towards her forehead and short curly hair.

  
Yet, the hours stretched with no one appearing to him with the woman. But, she had to be here. Eileen told him so, and according to her, they were good friends. Voldemort was sick of this, he had to find her. She disappeared for five whole years.

  
“She’s not here,” Abraxas told him. The blond approached him, with his hand on his chest to prove he had been running around. “I said, come back only when you find her!”, Voldemort shouted. The simple hex from his wand sent Abraxas back to collide with the trees.

  
“I’ve found her!”, a distant voice cried, dragging the woman under the first droplets of rain. She wasn’t fighting, she was completely giving up to whatever was coming up next. Her dark eyes glazing with a feeling Voldemort knew too well; hatred.

  
“did you use the crucio spell on her?”, Voldemort asked the man who was dragging her along the mud. The way her skin was bruising up answered him. “Yes, my lord!”. The man replied proudly. “I said bring her ALIVE! Which also includes not to HARM her!”, Voldemort shouted at him.

  
The man blood ran cold, no one has ever seen the dark lord lose his nerves. “kill him”, he gestured dismissively at Abraxas, the green flash blinded everyone for short seconds. The woman sat on the floor, clutching onto her dirty dark robes.

  
“bring her wand to me,” he ordered, watching Eileen walk with nervous steps towards Rosalie, she was kneeling beside her on the mud, giving her apologetic looks as she fisted her robes, hoping to find her wand, Rosalie finally talked, she was directing her speech to Eileen, “I trusted you”. 

  
Eileen broke their eye contact and said shortly, “he was going to kill my husband, he’s a muggle” when Eileen found the pink wand, she handed it to Voldemort that was watching their small conversation.

  
“Leave us alone”, Voldemort finally ordered, everyone apparated to unknown places in frictions of moments with his order. Voldemort finally took his hood down, Rosalie looked at him. He didn’t change much from the last time she saw him. Before five years.

  
His skin looked abnormally pale, his eyes had a strange hue of red. If the evil impersonated a form, it would be this one. “Tom Marvolo Riddle,” she said his full name with growing spite. “my love, Rosalie,” he called her.

  
He held her hand and instructed her to stand up, but she pulled her hand from his and shot him a glare. Tom sat down next to her, as the gentle rain fell on his hair as well. He pushed back the wet stray hair locks from her face, “I missed you so much,” he whispered.

  
Her nostrils flared with anger, Tom told her gently, “you don’t have to apologize about anything, I forgive you already,”. The woman slapped his hand away from her face, she said with a cold tone that never suited her, “I didn’t do anything wrong, you were the one that lied to me! You just couldn’t get over me and ruined my life and k-“, a hiccup paused her speech.

  
The tears that were falling along with the rain droplets made it hard for Tom to realize she was crying. Rosalie clutched on her chest tightly, “you killed everyone I loved, Grandma, dad, Evelyn, Leo, Elizabeth, Canna and Aurelia!”.

  
Tom held her jaw to face him, he demanded sternly, “Don’t you dare say his name!”. With all the power she had left, Rosalie pushed his hands away from her face, “why? Because I got pregnant with his child and not yours?” she spat.

  
“behave.” He told her, but the woman didn’t stop, she was lead by her hatred for him, “You killed Evelyn, my baby, she was only an infant! And Elizabeth?! What did she ever do to you?!”.  
“behave”, he told her calmly, “my family in Uagadou were right, I shouldn’t have gone with you and you killed them for no reason!”.

  
“Behave”, he demanded firmly, Rosalie hatred got the best of her once again, her bitter words were pouring acid to Tom, “and Leo?! He was an amazing man, a wonderful husband and he didn’t get to experience parenting-“

  
Tom slapped herm and shouted, “I said BEHAVE!”, Rosalie held her cheek as the sting of the slap was numbing her right cheek. Tom took her wand, broke it into a half, and discarded it behind his back, “Submit and I will forgive everything you said and did to hurt me,” he told her.

  
Rosalie looked the other way, hatred was painted on her face, Tom offered once again, more provoked by her silence, “if you come with me you won’t live in constant fear,”. Yet, her hard stare at the other side made it clear she would never succumb to him.

  
“you will gain nothing from being stubborn,” he told her with a cold tone, his eyes narrowing at her. With her remaining quiet and not responding to his offers and demands, Tom yanked her arm up with him, he brought her close to his face as he warned her, “I’m warning you, talk!”.

  
“what will you do to me? Kill me? I prefer to die over seeing you”, Rosalie said and pulled herself away from him, but his tight grasp around her waist didn’t allow her to back away as she’d like. “It truly was your fault for leaving me and going with that filthy man”.

  
She shook her head, “No, it’s your fault for killing my family, and to add more, you hid that from me, and the fact you’ve been plotting plans to terrorize innocent people!”. Tom demanded, “submit now or you will wish you were never born”. Rosalie sighed and whispered, “I wish we never met,”.

  
“Too bad we’re fated to be”. Tom said with a smirk and watched her face switch to anger again. However, she looked at him and chuckled darkly, “You have no idea what I was doing in the past five years of my life, I took a time turner and changed the past, which means I created another alternative dimension, do you know what that means?”.

  
Thunder split the sky and Tom saw her eyes swimming with dimmed emotions, only pure hatred and an insane expression were on her features. “It means if your alternative self dies, you also die here, and do you know what’s better than that?”.

  
She came closer to him, to whisper in his ear, “Elizabeth grandchild will kill you, and I will be watching you die in Leo’s arms,”, the way she whispered the last part was enough to make Tom see red around him, and he didn’t feel himself when his hands came to envelop her throat, “I told you to behave, you’re right you’re better off dead”.

* * *

  
When the end of August approached, great news spread across the wizarding world. They were officially free and safe from Grindelwald. Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald. Rosalie sat content next to her trunks. Fisting her dress anxiously, her face watching the fireplace with anticipation.

  
Zane sipped on his coffee and shook his head at the enthusiastic girl, “You will burn a hole in the fireplace”, he told her. Rosalie looked at him as she giggled, “I can’t help it! I haven’t seen Elizabeth in months! Plus she told me they’re hosting a small party at their mansion, and I’m very excited about that”.

  
Zane chuckled, his hand came to mess her hair as he said, “well, to make you happier, Dumbledore told me there’s going to be a big party at Hogwarts, although I still don’t know why Dumbledore only told me that, do you know why he’s acting very nice to me?”.

  
Rosalie gulped as she looked away, “I, have no idea, how is he being very nice to you?”.

  
Zane tilted his head and looked away as he began counting Dumbledore kind actions to him, “He keeps complimenting me, gives me food, he even takes my opinions…” he finished off, his amber eyes falling to look at Rosalie, he inquired, “Do you know why?”.

  
Before Rosalie could answer, the fireplace lit up and revealed Elizabeth, she quickly stepped out of the fireplace, it lit up once again as Leo appeared in it. “Beth! Leo!”, Rosalie called and ran to them with open arms as she hugged them both tightly.

  
“Rose!”, Elizabeth said and returned the hug, “Merlin, Rosalie, do you grow short?” Leo asked, his hand awkwardly patting her head. They parted as they shared a hearty laugh, Rosalie stared at their faces and observed the physical changes to them.

  
They both became relatively taller, Elizabeth hair has gotten much longer as it curled elegantly from its hairstyle, while Leo's hair seemed to be cut and styled to suit his face. They both looked stunning, Rosalie thought. “oh! Mr. Abella!”, Elizabeth cried and came to shake his hand firmly as a wide smile was on her face.

  
Zane laughed and told her, “just call me Zane, calling me Mr just makes me feel old, and I’m not that old!” they both laughed, Leo shook his hand and introduced himself, “I’m Leo Hornby, sir,”. Zane patted his upper arm and said, “I remember you! Good to see you again”.

  
Elizabeth hugged Persephone and said joyfully, “I never thought I’d say I missed her but I missed this ugly cat!”. Rosalie shook her head, her smile still on her face. “Anyways, let’s go, mother is dying to meet you,” Elizabeth said.

  
The blonde looked at Zane and told him, “thank you for allowing her to stay with us, I promise I will take excellent care of her”. Zane shook his head and grinned, “I should be the one saying that, thank you for taking care of her all this time in Hogwarts, she tells me so much about you and Leo,”.

  
Rosalie clasped her hand with them, squeezed them, and grinned, “I hope we remain great friends forever and ever!”. Elizabeth nodded happily, Leo agreed with her; forcefully ignoring the squeeze in his heart.

  
“are you sure you can’t come to the party, umm Zane?”, Elizabeth asked Zane, feeling slightly uncomfortable at not calling him mister. The older man nodded and explained, “Grindelwald may be defeated, but he still has supporters we need to find,”. He gently pushed them to the fireplace, “now go enjoy the remaining of your summer holiday, and you!” he turned to look at Rosalie with a stern look.

  
“When you’re in Hogwarts, write to me weekly and stop tiring out yourself by studying all the time”, Rosalie nodded, grinned, and hugged him tightly, Rosalie asked, “I will see you this winter holiday then?”. Zane nodded and flicked her forehead, “Yes, we will talk about it when the winter comes, for now just enjoy the last week of your summer holiday”.

  
With the same way Elizabeth and Leo arrived at the little cottage, they left along with Rosalie and Persephone. The Potter household was in view in several seconds, it was a large mansion with white-colored walls with a hint of gold, the chandelier was hung in the middle of the living room. And the fireplace looked fancy just like everything else.

  
When Rosalie came to reality, she was greeted by a woman with light blonde hair, she had Elizabeth’s hazel eyes but her short, and plump figure wasn’t similar to Elizabeth. However, the man that stood next to the woman proved to be Elizabeth’s father. He was tall and slim, his hair was of light brown that was greying. They both looked formally dressed, and Rosalie felt under-dressed.

  
However, the woman came to hug Rosalie tightly as she spoke in a high-pitched voice, “Oh merlin! You didn’t mention Rosalie was this beautiful! My my! It’s very good to see you, Elizabeth has been talking about you and I’m very pleased to finally meet you-“

  
“Mum! You’re scaring her!”, Elizabeth cut Mrs. Potter's words, and pulled Rosalie out of the woman’s grasp, Rosalie quickly shook her head, “No not at all! I’m very happy to meet you! And thank you for everything so far, for the Christmas gifts and Birthday gifts, I have been using everything- words can’t express my gratitude”, Rosalie said.

  
“It’s very good to finally meet you too sir, it’s my pleasure to meet you both, and thank you for having me here!”, Rosalie said, shaking her hands with Mr. Potter, Elizabeth grinned as she watched her parents coo at the polite girl. Leo cleared his throat, and said, “Well, I will meet you at dinner later,”.

  
Rosalie waved at him, watching as he left. When he left, Elizabeth grasped Rosalie’s hand and smiled, “Let me show you my room! And after lunch, we will get ready for the party”.

* * *

  
The storm thickened as the rain droplets aggressively tapped on the windows, Voldemort watched Rosalie's body on the floor, her back fully bare as the red bruises formed upon her skin. The only thing that was heard beside the heavy rain was her groans and soft cries.

  
“Stand up,” He demanded from her, the woman completely disregarded his order. The pain from his hexes on her back was unbearable, “Curcio” He said softly, looking away as her body twisted and her screams intensified.

  
When their eyes met, Rosalie’s filled with tears and her face switching red from the unbearable pain he inflicted on her, his filled with bitter spite, he stood up and held a fistful of her hair to lift her head the ground that was slowly pooling with her blood, “it would be easy if you gave up, just apologize, that’s all I’m asking from you”.

  
He watched her deep eyes, then smiled, came to press a gentle kiss on her bloodied lips. Rosalie turned her head, her hair ripping from her scalp when she moved her face away. “Why are you doing this to me?”, Rosalie asked.

  
“What do you mean why? You hurt me and you refuse to apologize”, Tom answered, dropped her head to fall back to its original place, Rosalie struggled to sit up with all the bruises forming in her body. “I didn’t hurt you, you are the one that keeps doing horrible things to me, you killed everyone I love”.

  
“My love,” He said gently, running his hand through her face. “You betrayed me, broke my trust and you keep speaking about that filth as if you actually loved him”, Tom elaborated, then brought her body to sit in his lap, brushed her hair gently.

  
His current actions were the total opposite of how he was torturing her for the past hours. “I loved Leo, I truly did, bu-“

  
“shush, no need to lie, from the moment we reunited all you’re saying is lies and nothing but lies,” Tom said, his eyes lit up, then he lifted her hair from her neck. “remember this mole?”, he asked gently, then placed his lips on her neck, “it used to make you insane, oh how I missed you,”.

  
Rosalie face switched to a frown as she sobbed heavily, “shush, why are you crying, love?” her tears rolled down her cheeks, with all the power she had left, she tried to push herself away from him but he was much stronger.

  
She preferred death, she deeply did. She lost all the hope to live five years ago, but she tried to fight her way to change the future, but nothing changed so far. “kill me, please” Rosalie begged. All the pride she had left vanished since she met him at the first rain of this miserable day.

  
She cursed everything about her life, and herself. “You mean 'heal me'? My pleasure, love” Tom replied, taking out his wand as he cast several spells to make her bones and her bruises mend. The heavy scars in her back remained, and it looked like he wanted it to be that way.

  
“kill me,” Rosalie asked, the sparkle in her eyes vanishing forever. She took his wand and pointed it to her chest, “just say it, say Avada Kedavra, you always say it”.

  
“you always say it, but why not to me?”, she begged again. Tom removed his wand from her chest and hugged her tighter, “Never,” he whispered. With that simple word, Rosalie shed tears silently.  
She wished all of this was a dream, a terrible and pathetic dream. And when she would open her eyes, she’s once again at her youth years, blooming with beauty and kindness. And all her loved-ones she misses more than anything is still there.

  
She wished that she never met Tom Riddle, she wished that none of this ever happened to her. And she wondered why she was the one to make him love when he was the child of a love potion. Tom always told her that it must be their destiny. That they’re fated to be.

If this was fate, then she hated it and wanted to disappear from this world.

* * *

**I hope you liked this chapter :D and always, feedback is appreciated and needed :)**


	14. Chapter 12: Poison.

**Chapter 12: Poison.**

**This chapter will occasionally switch worlds, so pay attention to the little tells I wrote to explain which world I'm narrating. Hope you enjoy reading :)**

* * *

“What’s that?”, the dark-haired male asked, looking at the brunette standing next to the small dining table, she always looked polished and put together. The lilac flowy dress she put on was the total opposite of the small shabby apartment she resided in with her strange beau.

  
The woman smiled warmly, and said, “Can’t I ever take care of you, Tom?”, she approached him slowly and wrapped her arms around his waist, “It’s just breakfast, you told me you’re going away for a while, and I wanted to do something special”.

  
Tom eyed her, he was filled with reluctance but her warm smile encouraged him to accept her kindness until the expensive silverware came to his view, the variation of food surprised him, after he graduated from Hogwarts he only lived on cold porridge and tea, he quickly stood up and pointed at them, “You know we can’t afford those, we need every penny”.

  
Rosalie sighed and gently stroked his shoulders to force him to sit down and enjoy a peaceful breakfast, “you're right, we need the money more than jewelry so I sold my necklace,”. Tom glanced at her bare neck, she always wore the rose necklace that she inherited from her mother, but she wasn’t wearing it, she must’ve sold it.

  
She sat on the wooden chair next to him and held his had tightly before she asked, “Tom, you would never hide anything from me, right?”. Tom looked into her eyes, there was strange emotion swirling inside that he can’t figure out.

  
Her question coming out of nowhere, he hid so many things from her. From the strange death of her grandmother, father, aunt, and her cousin that all tried to pry her away from him. To his dark plans of erasing all the muggles and muggle-borns. And to even charming her beloved necklace to show him exactly where she is and what she’s doing.

  
He glanced at her finger, she was still wearing the ring he gifted to her, little did she know he also hexed that to make him know where she is. He had to take precautions, he can never afford to lose her, she is the only one that understands him, and they’re fated to be, a match made in heaven. Even if he didn’t believe in that.

  
“never”, he replied and looked into her eyes to prove his point, she didn’t need to know about his lies, it’s for her safety and to save their relationship. Rosalie closed her eyes for a second and nodded, “right, eat your breakfast” she said and stood up.

  
“Where are you going?”, Tom asked her. Her feet tapped around the small flat, but she forced her shaking voice to answer, cheerfully “Madam malkin needs my help, then I have to run some errands, I don’t think I will be there to say goodbye when you leave”.

  
“What, why?”, Tom left his place from the kitchen and joined her in the bedroom, he saw her eyes sparkling with caged tears, he quickly hugged her and she hugged him tighter as she sobbed softly in his embrace. “what’s wrong?”.

  
 _I know you’re lying to me, I know your secrets_ , Rosalie wanted to answer. But she shook her head and pulled away, kissing both of his eyelids, “I’m gonna miss you, that’s all”. Tom held her face between his hands and looked into her tearful eyes, “I will come back, I promise”.

  
Rosalie chuckled and wiped her tears, her arms still wrapped around his body tightly. “I love you” Rosalie whispered, Tom slightly frowned, she was acting odd, she was acting as if they would never see each other.

  
“I love you more”, Tom told her and pressed their foreheads together, Rosalie pecked his lips, they were so soft that Tom could argue that it was his imagination. “I love you from the bottom of my heart, with the deepest affection”, she whispered.

  
Her fingertips caressing his face softly as she kissed him passionately, with so many words and things she wasn’t able to tell him. _I’m sorry for having to leave, I love you_. The heavy feeling in her chest was screaming guilt into her brain. She truly wondered; how did Tom feel when he lied to her?

  
Will she ever see him again? She will miss everything about him, she was aware that he isn’t who he shows, that everything about him was an insanely beautiful lie. Her voice couldn’t reach him but her feelings surely did. _I will miss you, I’m leaving forever and I hope I never see you_.

  
Tom pulled away from the deep kiss, he stroked her blushed cheeks. She wasn’t acting odd, she is odd, everything about this typical day was confusing. She will leave forever, he knows it, “Are you coming back?”, Tom asked her.

  
She knew something about him that he hid, he can sense it, but she isn’t getting emotional about it, she never brought it up. She was completely ordinary, she didn’t show him any sign of hatred. But why was she leaving him if she didn’t find out anything?

  
Rosalie smiled, “what are you saying? It’s you who’s leaving”, Tom sighed and hugged her tight, the unsettling emotion in his heart was growing rapidly, but she was right, he is the one that’s leaving not her.

  
She is odd, unpredictable, she’s an enigma. He wanted to dive into her mind and see her thoughts, but her mind was always scattered, and it wasn’t clear to read. Every thought she thought of would flow quickly as another one would arrive. There was always a storm in her head.

  
Every second counted into his head, her departure was arriving, he can feel it. Their hearts beat in the same rhythm and he still didn’t know anything. Rosalie tried to pull away but Tom tightened his hold, looking into her eyes as he inquired, “you’re coming back, right?”.

  
“You’re the one that’s leaving, love”.

  
Tom refused her answer and kept her inside his embrace, showing emotion wasn’t his thing, but he had to, he had to make her stay in any way. She must stay with him, he can’t visibly force her, or she will leave forever.

  
He knows that he lost her forever, but there’s still a chance no matter how tiny it is. His stunning woman, with her radiant personality and joyful demeanor, inviting all the positive and kicking away all the negative. She’s the object of his love and desire, and she will always be.

  
She was the one that taught him how to love, and he belonged to her. She can’t leave. This was the first time Tom regretted doing something, anything. Maybe if he showed her his true colors she would stay by his side, maybe if he didn’t kill her entire family she wouldn’t leave.

  
But what’s done is done, and he regretted killing her family and hiding everything from her. Meeting her in the forests of Albania wasn’t something he predicted, but again, she is always unpredictable. She threw herself into his life and made him stop thinking.

  
Rosalie is his first love, last love, and only love. He was getting desperate; he must make her stay. But how? He can’t show her his true colors, she will leave. His dark side must remain secret and hidden from her.

  
Regret filled him when he saw her eyes slightly hardening, so softly that he had to look very deep inside to see it. He regretted everything, slaughtering her family, hiding his dark plans from her, and each small bruise he left into her delicate body.

  
He hated himself for ever abusing her, how could he? How could he inflict pain on a lovely woman like her? She filled him with love, nurtured him, and accepted him as he is, even if he hid his greater dark side.

  
Tom clung into the last hopeful strand of all of this being a lie, that when he comes back from his trip she will be home. She will be in this shabby apartment and reading a cheesy book she borrowed from flourish and blots, wearing a pastel-colored dress, unlike the dark flat. And ranting about what happened on her boring day.

  
He wished and wished, but Rosalie forcefully pulled away from him and smiled widely, “I will miss you”.

“When I come back will you be here?”, Tom asked.

  
He was poison in the form of honey, very toxic yet tempting. But she had to remove herself from his life, he killed her family and hurt her, yet he had the heart to come and touch her, the same hands that killed her loved ones was the same hand that always touches her, lovingly. She lied, “Of course, I love you”.

* * *

The evening approached quickly, especially with Elizabeth showing Rosalie around the house. By the second call from Sophia; Elizabeth’s mother, the two girls descended from the stairs, ready for the party.

  
Elizabeth wore a bishop styled emerald dress that reached her knees. Her long blonde hair was styled away from her face in a fancy bun. The smile on her lips was wider than any time Sophia witnessed, she held onto Rosalie's hand tightly. “How do we look, mum? Pretty, right?”.

  
Rosalie slipped on a maroon petal styled dress, it tightened around her chest and flowed under her waist. Her long curly hair was loose, stray pieces framed her face. “my dears, you look stunning!”, Sophia gushed, as she watched them carefully walk down the stairs and holding each other’s hands tightly.

  
“Are you sure your father is not coming, darling?”, Sophia asked Rosalie, her hands squeezing the girls' shoulders anxiously. “Yes, Mrs. Potter, don’t worry about it,” Rosalie replied softly. Sophia sighed and crossed her arms, “I really wished he’d come,”.

  
Elizabeth jokingly said, “Mum, he’s very handsome, and he’s not that old”, Rosalie playfully hit her arm and said, “Beth! Don’t be gross! That’s my father!”. Elizabeth grasped Rosalie's hand and walked towards the dining room, “I’m only joking, or am I?”.

  
Their small quarrel was cut when their eyes landed on the guests filling the small circular tables, they both gently giggled and looked away in embarrassment. , “come, I will introduce you to Fleamont and Euphemia”.

  
Fleamont didn’t look that different from Elizabeth, the only difference was that his hair and eyes were of a darker shade, and he had visible freckles. Euphemia was from Indian descent, her skin color was of milk tea, her short hair locks were raven.

  
Euphemia smiled at the two girls, “You must be Rosalie! it’s so good to see you! Elizabeth has been talking about you non-stop!”, Fleamont hand was heavy and tight, his smile was wide and infectious. He truly seemed to be playful and had the characteristics of a big child, “Rosalie! Thank merlin you’re here! Or Elizabeth would have cried her whole summer holiday”.

  
Rosalie turned to Elizabeth before she can utter a word, his heavy hand patted both of their heads, “I’m only joking!” Elizabeth sighed and pushed his hands away from her head, “Fleamont! You’re bothering them”, Euphemia hissed and pinched his arm.

  
The two girls giggled at Fleamont overreacting at Euphemia pinch, Rosalie looked around the dining hall, everything was put to perfection. There were only five circular tables with about forty guests filling the dining hall. They mostly looked to be Elizabeth’s parents' colleagues.

  
There was gentle violin playing in the corner as the hum of the crowd also filled it, Rosalie spotted Leo sitting by one of the tables in the further corner from where Fleamont and Euphemia were sitting, He looked very handsome, the fancy black tuxedo he wore, and his hair that was styled to perfection. Rosalie's cheeks flamed when she realized he was looking at her.

  
Rosalie tugged on Elizabeth’s hand, “let’s go say hi to Leo’s family”, Elizabeth agreed and matched the girl’s quick steps. Once they reached the Hornby’s. Sherry, Leo’s mom looked very joyful with her shoulders gently swaying to the song. Olive nose crinkled up when she saw Rosalie, her frown deepening when she saw her mother hugging Rosalie tightly. “Oh wow! Girls! You look beautiful”, she said happily.

  
Elizabeth pointed at Rosalie, “Mrs. Hornby, this is Rosalie, a dear friend of mine and Leo’s friend as well,”. Sherry nodded and chuckled, “oh yes, yes, he did tell me about you”. Rosalie smiled and complimented, “Thank you! you look gorgeous!”, the older woman laughed and fixed her hair, “You are a sweet talker, aren’t you?”.

  
Rosalie shook her head and said playfully as her smile formed, “I only speak the truth, you look stunning and I almost mistook you to be Leo’s sister!”. Sherry giggled, hiding her smile under her palm, “wow, Leo must learn how to be a sweet talker like you!”.

  
Elizabeth pointed at him and hid her laugh under her sleeve, “Him? No way!”, Leo narrowed his eyes at Elizabeth and said, “Shut it, you can’t even continue to your N.E.W.T.S”, Sherry shrugged her shoulders, “Honestly, having fun is much better than studying your whole life”.

  
Rosalie, Elizabeth, and Sherry shared a laugh at Leo shocked face expression. When it quieted, Sherry nudged Rosalie and said, “Leo told me you’re a Hufflepuff, I used to be one!”. Rosalie gasped, “really?”.

  
“Yeah! But for some reason, I managed to get married to a boring Ravenclaw!”, They chuckled together, Leo’s nostrils flared as he stood up and tugged Rosalie away from his playful mother, Elizabeth grasped Rosalie other hand as she said, “Let’s dance!”.

  
“I’m joining,”, Leo said as a slight blush formed on his cheeks. “yeah, let’s go!”, Rosalie said and followed Elizabeth to the center of the dance hall, where it crowded with couples and teenagers dancing to the exciting beats blasting from the charmed radio.

  
Elizabeth didn’t waste a second, holding Rosalie's hand as her legs jumped gently and dipped to the music, her other hand reaching out to the ceiling. Rosalie giggled and tried to imitate the blonde, “Come on! Feel the music!”, Elizabeth encouraged Leo.

  
“I didn’t know you can dance like this”, Rosalie told Elizabeth once the song ended. “Oh, you have no idea how I love dancing!”, the blonde gushed, her smile stilling as her eyes beamed when a handsome tall ma came to stretch his hand to her, “may I have this next dance?”, he asked Elizabeth.

  
Rosalie grin widened when she saw Elizabeth’s cheeks turning rosy, Rosalie pushed her gently to him and whispered, “Work by your mother’s words”. Elizabeth slowly placed her fingertips inside the tall man's hand, as the second song played next. It was a more upbeat song and much joyful.

  
Rosalie giggled as she watched Elizabeth and the man walk away, with the blonde cheeks flaming when he placed his arm around her waist. Leo gulped slowly and bit his lower lip anxiously, his eyes never leaving Rosalie, especially with her face brightening with pure euphoria.

  
Rosalie turned to look at him, her grin slightly faltering when she saw his nervous features. Leo stretched his hand to her and forced his dry throat to say, “will you dance with me?”, Rosalie happy face returned to her, she grasped his hand tightly, “of course!”.

  
With that, he slowly placed his arm around her waist, and his hand clasping with her smaller hand. Oh, how her hand fit perfectly to his, and their proximity was pumping blood to his head and cheeks. And her teasing smile and playful eyes weren’t helping at all.

  
The maroon dress fit her perfectly, and she looked like the prettiest girl here. her head reached to his heart and he wondered if she could hear his fast heartbeats. Her thrilled chuckles were making the butterflies in his stomach go chaotic.

  
How her skin was radiant under the golden chandeliers, the way her chest touched his, was making him go crazy, if he didn’t already lose his mind with the girl beauty. “You look handsome today”, Rosalie whispered in his ear.

  
Her hot breath fanning his neck as she tiptoed to whisper that compliment, of course, her praises were what he loved and desired. “I’m aware, and you look gorgeous”, He whispered to her ear playfully. He won’t be a nervous mess tonight, no, not tonight.

  
She looked slightly amused, but her smile never left her face. And they danced to the next song, and the following ten songs after it. They only stopped when Elizabeth came to them, forcefully pulling Rosalie away from his grasp. He truly hated Elizabeth at that moment, but, he was secretly thankful, he didn’t want to fall in love with Rosalie more than that.

* * *

_**Dear Tom,** _

  
_**Hello, love. I left, I’m sorry you had to find out in this cruel way, but you weren’t exactly the nicest to me, right?** _

  
_**I don’t want to see you hurt. Even if you hurt me so much, the last four years with you were wonderful. But I wish I never met you, you killed my whole family, remember?** _

  
_**I don’t care how much you hurt me, It was okay because I loved you. But slaughtering my family just because they opposed the idea of us being together, I had to leave. You’re no good for me, and I’m obviously not good for you. I’m just an obstacle in your plans, remember?** _

  
_**By the time you find this letter we would already be 25, and I probably, and hopefully would move on from you. Don’t worry about me, I’m strong, I will probably become a botanical witch like I always wanted to.** _

  
_**Please don’t look for me, you already hurt me so much.** _

  
_**Love,** _   
_**Rosalie.** _

Tom read through Rosalie’s letter for the thousand times, he was sure she wrote this letter, her cursive handwriting was familiar to him. His heart was right that morning, she was planning on leaving. And she successfully left.

  
He folded her letter into his back pocket and stared into the small house in the middle of the forest, Rosalie appeared from the window as she held onto her swollen belly. He never imagined her to move on from him so quickly.

  
While he was away carving and making Horcruxes, she was moving on from him. Her heart no longer belonged to him, fire grew in his core as he watched Rosalie giggle as she pushed her supposed husband away from her, muttering what seemed to be words of comforting.

  
“I’m fine! Honestly!”, she said and reached for the pillow that slipped from her hands. Leo marched and made her stand up straight, “No No! just sit please! The last trimester is dangerous!”, he scolded her lightly and made her sit down.

  
Tom clenched his fist, his eyes never leaving the scene. The small house fit Rosalie’s tastes exactly like how she once described to him her dream house. She wanted it to be of white wood, the insides to have pastels and flowers.

  
The garden held on too many roses and berries. Each time he plucked one it would instantly die in his hands for a strange reason. Tom truly wanted to march inside the house and burn everything in it. He desired to murder the stupid oaf that Rosalie loved.

  
He remembers him vaguely from his Hogwarts days, he was some boring man that blended easily with the crowd. Nothing was special about him, the fire of spite eating up Tom’s insides was spreading insanely.

  
Tom wanted to kill someone, especially the husband. And the fetus inside her. The idea of another man touching Rosalie the way he touched her was making his blood burn and boil. She was his, Rosalie belonged to him.

  
He wanted to kill, but he won’t kill them now. He will kill them once the child is born. Once the evil, cursed infant is born. He will get rid of them all, and he will have his soulmate by his side again.  
“We have to find a name, she will be born soon”, Leo said, Rosalie held his arm as she traced his long slender fingers, “What do you have in mind?”, she said her voice slightly above a whisper. Leo tilted his head and began thinking of a name.

  
“Sarah,” he answered, Rosalie, rolled her eyes and said, “Stop choosing boring names!”. Leo chuckled and asked her, “alright, what do you have in mind?”.

  
“Evelyn”, Rosalie replied shortly as a smile formed on her face, Leo nodded, “Evelyn it is,”.

  
When Tom heard what Rosalie said, his insides twisted and turned, she did everything she planned out for them to have together. First, the house, with all its irrelevant details, it was a replica of how she described their dream home would be like.

  
Then the child, and the name. She always told him she wanted to be a good mum. She was deprived of having a mother so she wanted to be the best one. She told him once she wanted to have five children and they all had names.

  
How could she move on? He would never forgive her. Tom thought.

  
All Tom could hear from the house is laughs and music, unharmful arguments would occasionally start. But it was all Leo's concern for the pregnant Rosalie and the child she was carrying. It truly would be a loss if Leo watched his child die by an unforgivable curse. It was necessary, Rosalie did an unforgivable mistake. And the only way to discipline her is to use an unforgivable curse.

* * *

  
The first of September arrived, it was time to get back to Hogwarts. And just like the first time Rosalie was here, Platform nine and three quarters was buzzing with life and excited chatter. Grindelwald was gone and everyone can finally be at peace.

  
Zane couldn’t make it to the King's Cross station to bid farewell to his daughter, but he did make it up by sending occasional letters. “I hate to say this but I’m very excited for school”, Elizabeth said as she clung to Rosalie's arm.

  
“Because you don’t have to prepare for N.E.W.T.S,” Leo said as he shut his book, Elizabeth ignored him as she watched Sophia, her own mother hold Rosalie’s other hand and show how much she was proud of her to gain the outstanding occupation of a Prefect and a possible head girl for the following year.

  
Elizabeth glanced around her, looking for a giant white cat, when she didn’t spot her she tugged Rosalie's arm and said, “have you seen Persephone?”. Rosalie shrugged her shoulders and replied, “she’s most definitely with her other beloved human”.

  
Leo narrowed his eyes at her and asked, “who is it? She’s obviously not with me”. Rosalie face stilled, Elizabeth glanced at her with horror, Leo is not a fool. He will easily connect the dots that Rosalie and Tom have some sort of a strange tie. Elizabeth said calmly, “Persephone never like-“.

  
“Abella, Hornby”.

  
A voice called, Rosalie blood ran cold as she turned to look at Tom with Persephone twirling under him. Elizabeth's eyes widened at the scarf he was wearing, the one Rosalie knitted. But Elizabeth wasn’t the only one that noticed that Leo also perceived it.

  
“The prefects must assemble, right now”, he shortly informed and left them. The silence broke between the three teenagers, Sophia said playfully, “who’s that? He’s quite handsome”. Rosalie glanced at Leo to find his face turning to an indifferent one. His eyebrows fell and his lips formed into a thin line.

  
Rosalie hugged Sophia tightly as she said, “I will miss you so much, thank you for having me, and hopefully we will meet at the winter holiday!”, Sophia shared the hug and chuckled lightly as her face was blushing due to the sad feeling she was suppressing.

  
“Mum! I know you love Rosalie but don’t forget I’m your daughter as well!”, Elizabeth said with a giggle and tightly hugged her mother. Leo forced a smile to Sophia as he followed Rosalie to the front cabins where all the prefects were seated.

  
“What was that?”, he asked her as they stepped inside the train. Rosalie glanced at him as she tugged on her satchel, “what was what?”. Leo forced a sigh and seized Rosalie's upper arm, “why was Persephone with him? and why was he wearing that scarf I saw in the Hufflepuff common room?”.

  
“Leo, you’re hurting me,” Rosalie said and pulled her arm away from him, he muttered an apology, yet his hard look remained. They sat inside the cabin that had few other Prefects. Rosalie fully turned to start a conversation with Leo, but he took out his book and began reading through the lines. She heaved a sigh and decided she will take a nap.

“What are you doing here?”, Rosalie asked, roughly holding her wand as she glared at Tom. Standing in the middle of her living room. He stepped closer to her, and her hand protectively laid on her swollen stomach. He wasn’t normal, but then again, when has he ever been typical?

  
Tom ignored her scared eyes and stopped walking to her, “I missed you” he said. Rosalie stare sharpened as she glanced at his abnormally pale skin, “you were making Horcruxes?”, she asked and scoffed before he could respond.

  
“Leave!”, Rosalie chanted as she stepped closer to him. a smirk formed in Tom's face as he watched her, “why? Afraid your daft husband would see me here?”, he walked around her and came to look at the Portraits hung around the living room.

  
“I said leave, I told you not to search for me! I moved on and so should you!”, Rosalie screamed, her vocal cords were dry from how much she gulped of the growing anxiety in her core. Tom's eyes traced the figures in the pictures, he told her without looking at her, “relax, you don’t want to harm the child now, do you?”.

  
Rosalie scoffed, “and you care? Since when you cared about someone other than yourself?”. Tom nodded and slowly turned to face her, “Is that what you think?”, his words didn’t remain too long in the air as Rosalie instantly replied, “It’s what I know”.

  
Tom tilted his head to the side innocently, as he asked with thin interest, “Your husband works as a healer in St. Mungo’s?”. Rosalie felt the unnerving sensation creep up her body as if million invisible ants were walking on her, he knows too much. He was threatening.

  
Tom forced a concerned face on him, as he approached her, “oh no! I’m not here to scare you, I just wanted to see you and see what you accomplished in the last four years,” he took a breath as he forced a guilty look to his eyes, “but I’m not welcome here, I suppose I will just leave,”.

  
Rosalie remained silent, her wand was still pointing at him and waiting for him to do any odd thing and she will strike, Tom waved at her as he stepped towards the front door. But he suddenly stopped and turned to look at her, “is it a girl or a boy?”.

  
“that’s none of your business, leave”, Rosalie coldly answered, Tom acted as if an arrow shot his heart from her unusual cold tone, “Woah, strict now? You never used that tone when we were together”.

  
“Because we are not together and never will be, now leave!”, Rosalie screamed as her other hand held onto her stomach protectively when she felt a kick from her infant, it was comforting in the cold feeling Tom spread once he stepped inside the house. It was as if Evelyn was telling her to calm down, _I’m here Mama._

  
Tom raised his hands in defense and finally left stepped out of the house. Rosalie quickly locked the door after him and leaned against it as her tears formed, she felt as if he’d kill her. Or worse, kill Evelyn.

  
Gentle knocks came from the door, Rosalie glanced outside to find Elizabeth happily waving at her, she quickly unlocked the door and threw her body on Elizabeth. The blonde chuckled and patted her back, “Nervous? I know! I told Leo that you don’t need a magical procedure! But I promise it won’t hurt at all and Evelyn will be born healthy”.

  
Rosalie quickly wiped her tears and forced a chuckle at Elizabeth pure assumption, Elizabeth took Rosalie’s heavy winter coat from the hanger beside the door, “ I was instructed to accompany you by a muggle car because apparating is quite harmful to you”, she carefully helped her to wear the coat and walk down the stairs.

  
Rosalie felt sharp eyes watch her from the left corner, she glanced at it to find Tom looking at them. He looked indifferent, but it wasn’t true. His narrow lenses said more than needed, he reeked of the stench of death and he was willing to commit to it. When and How? Rosalie wasn’t aware, but to whom, it was obvious, to the kicking infant in her belly and her husband.

* * *

The Hornby household was always full of life, especially after the born of the new baby girl. The new addition to the family collected all love from everyone. Her name was Evelyn, her skin was a beautiful mix from both her parents and her eyes were wide and dark as they sparkled just like her mother’s.

  
“Wake up, wake up”

  
The man with the light brown hair shut his eyes tightly at the soft voice talking to him, then a small hand came to press on his cheeks as soft lips kissed his forehead, “Wake up, sweetie”. Leo slowly opened his eyes and adjusted to the sun rays creeping from the window.

  
His eyes finally fixated on his wife, that was smiling at him, “There you are,” she whispered. On typical mornings like this, Leo always wanted to tell her that he never imagined his future to be like that; to be with her. But he refrained, instead he grinned and whispered, “Good morning,”.

  
“Good morning”, she told him back and watched him finally sit up. Rosalie’s fingertips fixed his messy hair. “Evelyn will wake up soon, we have to get ready,” Rosalie said gently, and finally stood up from the bed to fix the curtains.

  
The windows finally showed the full view of sunrays violently attacking the once dim room. Rosalie dusted the fabric curtains and took out her wand from her hair and waved it gently to bring the floating infant crib towards her, the baby inside it finally opened her eyes at the sight of the bright sun.

  
Rosalie took her out of the crib and kissed her forehead as she fixed her messy hair as well, she jokingly tutted, “Look at you, messy hair just like your dad”. Leo stood up and approached them, “Hey, don’t make fun of my baby”, he chuckled and hugged them both.

  
Leo looked at his daughter, she was rubbing her eyes and stretching from the deep slumber. Rosalie sighed and walked away with Evelyn still adjusting from waking up, “Okay, get ready and come watch over her, and don’t take too long please!”, she said while walking away.

  
Leo grinned and followed her out of the bedroom, “Come on, where is my morning kiss?”. Rosalie glanced at him and rolled her eyes, setting down Evelyn to change her clothes. “Leo Hornby! Get ready! Elizabeth will be joining us for lunch and the house is a mess!”, Rosalie said loudly as she glared at him.

  
Leo shook his head and his feet tapped across the floor, “No! where is my kiss?”, he whined childishly as he watched Evelyn giggle at his high-pitched voice. Rosalie snatched the pillow from the armchair and aimed it to Leo, “Don’t make me repeat my words!”.

  
“Evelyn, your mom hates me!”, Leo chanted, Rosalie sighed and said, “No, but she will kill you if you don’t get ready on the count of three,” she took the dirty clothes and threw them at the wooden basket, she full turned to look at him with Evelyn in her arms once again, “one…”.

  
Leo quickly dashed towards the restroom, the last thing he heard before he shut the door was the sound of his two favorite girls giggling at him.

  
“Now, can you please sit still while mama brushes your messy hair?”, Rosalie cooed and gently stroked Evelyn soft cheeks. She finally placed Evelyn in the floating crib as she swayed her wand left and right to organize the house.

  
Loud knocks came from the door, Rosalie approached the door as she opened it to be greeted by Elizabeth’s wide grin, the blonde pushed Rosalie away from her view, and she chanted, “where is my lovely baby?!”.

  
Rosalie jokingly said, “Hey! I used to be the favorite one! What happened?!”. Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders as she picked up Evelyn from her crib, “Evelyn was always the favorite one!”. Rosalie headed to the open kitchen as she placed the pots in the middle of the organized dining table.

  
Elizabeth watched her as she was carefully holding Evelyn in her arms, “Is that lazy head still sleeping? Can we please hex him?”, Rosalie giggled at her as she replied, “He’s getting dressed and no we can’t hex my husband, at least not now”.

  
“Why do you even come here? You come here every day!”, Leo said as he picked up his daughter from Elizabeth’s arms, the blonde refused by pushing him away and tightening her grip around the baby, “for your information, I only visit to see Evelyn and Rosalie, definitely not to see your ugly face”.

  
Rosalie forced them both to sit down at the dining table, “Children, don’t fight or I will punish you two”, she said. “I’m a whole grown man, how dare you say that to me?”. Elizabeth kissed Evelyn smiling face, “you’re a big baby,” she said. Rosalie agreed with a laugh.

As the hours passed, the night surrounded the house. And because it was winter, the sun vanished quicker. “Don’t you have a home to go to?”, Leo asked sarcastically, Elizabeth rolled her eyes at him and said, “Too bad I live here”.

  
Rosalie stood up from her place between Elizabeth and Leo on the sofa, Evelyn was gently snuggled to her. They both looked at her, Rosalie said softly, “it’s bedtime for Evelyn, she’s exhausted”, her words were proven by Evelyn delicately yawning and her half-closed eyes as she fought off the sleep from her system.

  
“let me say goodnight to her”, Elizabeth said as she grasped her from her mother, she pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, “Evelyn, Beth loves you”. She whispered to her and handed Evelyn to Leo that did the same but hugged her for a bit longer as he murmured to her, “Papa loves you”.

  
Rosalie collected Evelyn and said, “all right, I will put her to sleep and come back”. Elizabeth nodded and said, “but please come quickly, I don’t want to be stuck with Leo for too long!”. Leo pushed her away jokingly and shook his head as Rosalie laughed at them.

  
Rosalie softly hugged Evelyn to her heart inside the darkroom that was lit by a few floating candles, Evelyn wide eyes adjusted to the sudden change in lightening. She slowly looked around but her eyes rested on her mother’s smiling face, “Mama loves you too, mama loves you more than anyone”.

  
She pressed a kiss to her cheeks and eyelids and pulled away, Evelyn eyelids were becoming heavier as she slowly blinked, Rosalie eased her to reach to her dreamland as she hummed some sort of a lullaby to her.

  
When Evelyn fully closed her eyes, Rosalie held onto her tighter as she gently swayed her around and untied the curtains on the windows. Then she approached each individual candle and blew on it, the room was finally and fully dark now. Rosalie carefully placed Evelyn in her crib.

  
The door to the room squeaked and Rosalie made a mental note to fix it later, but when she turned to look at the newcomer to her daughter’s bedroom, fear washed over her body and she quickly grasped on her robes to find her wand.

  
“looking for this?”, Tom held her wand before her eyes, Rosalie attempted to catch it from him but he simply tucked it away as he hexed her to fall backward. Rosalie quickly stood up as she screamed, “LEO! BETH!”.

  
But no answer came to her, she only received her voice echoing back to her, and the cries of the startled Evelyn. Rosalie stood up and shielded the crying baby from Tom, “Please don’t hurt her, I will do anything just don’t hurt her!”.

  
Rosalie dropped to her knees as she begged, “please! Take me but not Evelyn!”, she cried and fisted the crying Evelyn hand to ease her. But Evelyn just cried harder. Tom's face was expressionless as he pointed his wand at the baby.

  
Rosalie stood up and pushed him away, his feet remained planted to the floor. Rosalie cried as she threw at him the floating candles and anything she could find around her, all in hopes that the monster wouldn’t reach her daughter.

  
“Stand aside” he commanded.

  
Rosalie shook her head and refused, “NO! I SAID TAKE ME NOT HER!”. Evelyn cries sharpened as she held onto her mother’s dress through the crib bars, Rosalie held her tightly and said, “if you’re gonna kill her, then kill me!”.

  
Tom glared at her and watched Rosalie try to push him away in hopes of leaving the room, and she successfully did. Her eyes widened when she saw Leo and Elizabeth's blood was painting the once white living room. Rosalie tucked Evelyn face under her robes and dashed outside the house.

  
But it was no use as death eaters were surrounding the house, she cried and tried to push through them, once Tom exited the house a death eater plucked Evelyn from her hands. Rosalie cried and her arms flailed. Her hands clawing at their masks to give her baby back.

  
“let her go”, Tom said and watched Rosalie run to him and punch him as she cried, “give me my baby! Give my baby! I hate you! I hate you!”. Tom withstood her painful hits to his chest, he didn’t say anything as he watched Rosalie claw his robes to find her wand.

  
“Accio! Wand!”, she cried and before her wand could come to her a green light flashed before everyone's eyes and Evelyn cries were muted. Rosalie gasped with shock. Her heartbreaking into million pieces that shattered into the ground along with her tears.

  
She didn’t feel her wand resting in her hand as she watched Evelyn limp corpse in the hands of the death eater. Rosalie cries intensified as she raised her hand to plant a painful slap on Tom’s face, “I hate you!”, she screamed.

* * *

**I hope you liked reading this chapter! I know I kept on switching from different times but I liked it that way more as it explained more to each worlds. And to clear some things, Tom had to leave to make agreements with different creatures to complete his plans. And apparently you can't disapparate with a baby, this is why Rosalie couldn't do that with Evelyn. Anyways, please please please send me feedback! I love reading your opinions and comments and they give me energy to write the following chapters quicker and make them better :D**


	15. Chapter 13: Morally Grey.

**Chapter 13: Morally Grey.**

* * *

The second the twig snapped, it’s sound echoing, the woman took out her wand and whispered a Lumos to cast light on her path. Her eyes narrowing as she watched for any possible predator. When night fell, it meant the start of her journey.

  
Looking for a horned serpentine dragon, the hardest task ever. Those creatures were known to have severe trust issues and attack any soul insight. She vividly recalls Fida's proud features as she spilled the news, “find the serpentine dragon, find it and I will rest at peace that you’re the right heir”.

  
The woman truly didn’t want to tell her that she never wanted to be the heir, she wanted to be a typical herbology witch, to look for the new plants. “Who’s there?”, Rosalie inquired loudly, as her wand aimed around to look for the stalker.

  
It could be anything, especially in the forests of Albania, that were known to hold the most terrifying types of predators, whether it was humans or others. Rosalie wasn’t scared about the possible threat, but the fact that she had to make sure she slayed them. To make sure she doesn’t get attacked when she wasn’t paying attention, it hurts her.

  
Strangely, Rosalie wide eyes rested at peace when they landed on the threat. A handsome human, he looked poised and he had his wand out as well. Rosalie never saw someone so beautiful, but the way her brain hammered into her skull reminded her that he could be an enemy.

  
“Who are you?”, he inquired. His silky voice matched his features. The woman stuck the sides of her long robes out and dipped, her voice intensifying to match the proud stance of her ancestry, and her status, “I’m Rosalie Abella, the princess of the Abella nation”.

  
“What are you doing here?”, he demanded an answer, his wand was still pointed at her. Rosalie walked closer to him as she answered, “Looking for the serpentine dragon, who are you?”. She stopped a few steps away from him, his face switched as he answered, slightly bitterly, “Tom Riddle,”.

  
Rosalie nodded and pointed at his wand, “you can put it away, I won’t hurt you”, Tom narrowed his eyes and looked at her suspiciously, “How can I be sure?”. Rosalie chuckled and raised her hands defensively, “Because I put mine away”, yet, his wand was still aimed at her.

  
She vanished from his eyesight, Tom looked around him as he searched for her. But she appeared on the tree branch, “I see you don’t trust anyone, Don’t worry, I’m a very sweet person”. Tom scoffed, “and a thief says they don’t steal,”. And once again, she vanished.

  
She appeared behind him, and whispered in his ear, “You’re a muggle-born, aren’t you?”. He slightly jumped from her sudden movements, and her assumption that was accurate. But, he wouldn’t give her the pleasure of knowing his blood status.

  
“I’m certain you’re a muggle-born, don’t worry, me too!”, Rosalie chanted and chuckled, Tom looked at her bitterly, she was too childish and too stubborn. “You see, my father is a pure-blood, he fell in love with a muggle girl, and they had me”.

  
“Get away from my sight”, Tom demanded and watched Rosalie take out her wand. The woman smirked and aimed a hex, Tom instantly pointed his wand at her neck and said, “what are you doing?”. Rosalie grinned, “a vampire, they do love pales like you”.

  
Tom frowned and turned to look at what she was referencing, her words were on point, a vampire was sprawled on the soil as he sporadically twitched, “and do you know what’s worse? If they target you, they will do the most to have your blood”.

  
Slanted glowing eyes appeared from the dark trees, Rosalie patted Tom back and said, “And merlin, how do they love pales, easy to spot the arteries”. Her wrist flicked to aim another hex at the vampires that were rapidly increasing in number.

  
Tom aimed hexes at them, “I say we form a team,” Rosalie suggested smugly. One thought was on Tom’s head, he had to be careful around this girl, she was insanely strong. Either he becomes her ally or an enemy, becoming allies was more valuable.

* * *

Elizabeth hazel eyes widened as she looked around carefully, spotting Leo was easy and for the first time he wasn’t accompanying Rosalie, “Where the hell is Rosalie?”, she inquired, her hand darting and holding Leo in place, he pulled his arm away and glared at her, “why are you asking me? She’s your friend”.

  
Elizabeth said coldly, “she’s your friend as well, and as I recall, she was sitting next to you!”. Leo looked away and shook his head, “look, I’m not her friend, and I don’t want to be her friend, being her friend puts me in great disadvantage”. Elizabeth turned her head to glare at him and ask loudly, “What the hell? Weren’t you the one chasing her aro-“.

  
“precisely, but I don’t want her to see me in that light,” Leo said and left the blonde, her face morphed into slight shock, this year wasn’t looking very bright, especially with Leo acting tough and Ariadne wanting to test her patience.

  
The search for Rosalie soon ended when she spotted her guiding the first years to the boats, she marched across the pavement and took her away from the clueless first years, Rosalie quickly followed behind the nervous Elizabeth.

  
“Look, did Leo talk to you about his feelings?”, Elizabeth asked, her legs striding inside the castle, Rosalie's face crinkled but she shook her head, Elizabeth sighed and shrugged her shoulders, “whatever, I’m sure he will tell you sooner or later, but listen to this, Ariadne is going crazy!”.

  
Elizabeth stopped walking at the entrance of the great hall, her hands tightly grasping Rosalie shoulders as she warned, “That girl is mental, she is spreading vicious rumors about me, and now everyone is looking at me differently, wood said that if the rumors were true he will have to eliminate me from the Quidditch team-“.

  
Rosalie interrupted Elizabeth's breakdown as she gently hugged her and whispered, “hey, breath in and out, in and out”, Elizabeth heaved a sigh as she sharply inhaled, tears were welling in her hazel eyes as she finally exhaled. Rosalie sighed and hugged Elizabeth tightly again, the passing students were throwing them strange looks as Ariadne passed by she forcefully giggled.

  
Her shoulder intentionally hitting Rosalie’s, Elizabeth pulled away from Rosalie and wiped her tears quickly, “look, she’s saying that I- I-“.

  
“Riddle! Abella!”.

  
The two girls turned to look at Professor Slughorn pointing for Rosalie to approach him, the brunette gave Elizabeth an apologetic look, Elizabeth shook her head and waved her hand for Rosalie to go to their Potion’s Professor, “no, it’s alright, I will tell you about it after the sorting,”.

  
Elizabeth said and walked away, her direction showing she’s not going to the great hall but rather to her dorms. Rosalie stood watching her blonde friend walk with her shoulders heavy and her head hung low. Whatever Ariadne did, she will regret it, Rosalie was certain about this.

  
Not to keep her Professor waiting for long, Rosalie finally turned and walked towards him and Riddle that were both sharing corners of a lame topic. Slughorn quickly cut his speech once he spotted Rosalie, “Right, I wanted to congratulate you both on your marks in the O.W.L.s”.

  
Rosalie heaved a sigh and forced an uncomfortable laugh, Elizabeth needed comfort and her old Professor was cluelessly and innocently stating how proud he was of them, for simply getting and outstanding in each subject before Rosalie could mutter a word to him.

  
He cut her, “And yes, very outstanding, very indeed. Therefore, I enrolled the both of you into the Wizarding schools' Potions championship”, Rosalie felt her world spiraling and all her problems and worries piling once again, “You will both bring grace to our school”, he finished off. Before he could wave them off Rosalie said loudly, her breath running short as the signs of Anxiety were building up.

  
“Impossible! I object, sir! Canna, my cousin has been preparing for this contest her whole life! And, and- and- you just told us, there’s no way we will win!-“, Slughorn heavy hand patted her shoulder, Rosalie heaved a sigh as she looked at his stubborn features, “That won’t happen, you two are the smartest of the bunch, Rosalie is a hard-worker and Tom is gifted in everything he does”.

  
“We will talk about it tomorrow after the Slug club meeting, for now, think about it more”, Slughorn said with a pleased grin and walked towards the great hall, Tom stood still and watched Rosalie hold her head and walk towards a different direction to where they’re supposed to be.

  
He followed her and said, “You’re supposed to be at the great hall,” Rosalie glanced at him and responded, “I know but Elizabeth needs me, seems like Ariadne screwed things again!”, she roared the last part and fisted her robes aggressively.

  
Tom smirked and said, “So, what are you going to do?”, he looked highly entertained by Rosalie slightly losing her nerves, the girl took a sudden halt in the empty corridor, her eyes were glued to the floor, she exhaled and inhaled. And finally, her features turned apathetic.

  
Apathy was an odd feeling in Rosalie’s face, so Tom asked again, “shouldn’t you teach her a lesson?”. Strangely, Rosalie grinned joyfully and turned to look at Tom, “Why’s that? Prefects shouldn’t get in trouble, I should be the bigger person”.

  
Something was off, Tom knew it, the girl forced smile and her wide steps to reach the first-floor restroom. But of course, it wasn’t Rosalie's problem, it was Elizabeth’s, why should Rosalie lose her nerves on someone else’s issues?

  
“Right, you shouldn’t meddle into it, it’s not your issue”, Tom said with a shrug of his shoulders and turning towards the Slytherin dorms. Rosalie grinned and waved at him, “Don’t worry about anything, I’m a well-raised daughter that won’t cause any harm and get into trouble”.

  
Shortly, after chasing the tiles into the first-floor restroom, Rosalie reached her destination and found Elizabeth; who was bawling her eyes out, the faucet was open as she splashed her face with the lukewarm water.

  
Rosalie rushed to her and embraced the taller girl in her arms as the blonde cried, and a string of curses was aimed at Ariadne. Elizabeth finally pulled away and roared into her sleeves, her eyes turned red from the number of tears she shed.

  
Rosalie crossed her arms and began her investigation, “Alright, what happened?”, Elizabeth exhaled, and her eyes turned sharp as she dried her face with her white handkerchief. The blonde fully faced Rosalie; her fist clenched.

  
“That blithering idiot, she is spreading rumors that I’m pregnant with a child, For fucks sake! I’ve never kissed a boy! And she keeps testing me! Like that loser purposefully spilled three cups of pumpkin juice on me ‘accidentally’! I’m so going to kick her head!”, Elizabeth cried into Rosalie’s face, her hands coming to pull the roots of her hair strands.

  
Rosalie glared into space, but soon sighed and eased Elizabeth’s fingers from her scalp, “I have the perfect plan for that?”. Elizabeth's angry features switched to satisfaction when she heard Rosalie’s words, the girl was genius, she would have the best evil plan to avenge her.

  
But what shocked Elizabeth, was when she heard Rosalie say, “we won’t do anything”, the blonde shook her head and took out her wand, she will fight Ariadne if she had to. She won’t lose her chance to join the national team just because a stupid loser spread rumors about her, that her captain somehow believed.

  
Rosalie spread her arms as she rushed to the exit of the restroom, Elizabeth glared at her and demanded with spite, “Rosalie, get the hell out of my way! I will hex that girl into mars and I don’t care if I get expelled!”.

  
“But that’s exactly what she wants! She wants us to lose our minds and hurt her so she can be the victim in this situation!”, Rosalie cried. Elizabeth stilled, her face tilted in question, and stopped walking. Rosalie added with a sincere smile, “Don’t worry about anything, I will do everything and you just keep your outbursts in control”.

  
Elizabeth closed her eyes, her shoulders hung low as she whispered, “I can’t afford to let the rumor spread, I will get eliminated from the team”. Rosalie sighed and held Elizabeth cheeks, “Then, do you have a plan?”.

  
Elizabeth refused, “I just want to hex her, with her stupid big mouth she will ruin the chance of me reaching to the national team”.

  
“This is exactly what we won’t do, just trust me, please?”, Rosalie begged, her hand cupping Elizabeth’s cheeks that finally gave in to the Hufflepuff's request.

* * *

  
The first day of classes was different, everything about it. Rosalie noticed that the class spread into two sections, students who will complete their N.E.W.T.s and students who won’t reach that level. Periodic fights started due to the disturbance of the ones who won’t reach beyond.

  
“ten points of Hufflepuff!”, Slughorn screamed at Sierra and Ariadne that were continuously giggling and gossiping. He rounded their bench and reached to Rosalie and Eileen who were cooperating into perfecting the potion.

  
“Abella, have you thought about my offer?”, Slughorn asked as he watched her stir the pot. Ariadne's ears perked up as she turned to face them, Eileen glanced at her older professor in slight interest. Rosalie cleared her throat uncomfortably at the orbs inspecting her answer.

  
“I will give you my answer tonight, sir”, she replied. He agreed with a pleased hum, “very well,” he said and walked away. Rosalie felt Eileen curious orbs, but she quickly changed the topic with a grin, “why don’t you try stirring it?”, Eileen reluctantly picked up the wooden ladle and carefully helped the brunette.

  
“The princess most likely got special treatment, again”, Ariadne said loudly, her voice echoing in the dense dungeon, the brunette shifted awkwardly in her chair, judgemental eyes attacking her from each side.

  
Slughorn looked away awkwardly when he received angry looks from the minority, who were the same students who were disturbing the class. “Highly unlikely, because of the O’s she got on the O.W.L.s”, Tom said a bit loudly, and it seemed that he intended it to be that way. Slughorn straightened his back once again as he clapped his hands to grasp the attention of his students.

  
“Ah, yes, very well, Riddle”, he said and walked once again to the board as he said, “Now, perfect the assignment by the second lesson, or your house will lose five points”, a unified groan intensified from the students.

  
He clapped his hand and watched them quickly collect their belongings for the next class. Transfiguration, with the Gryffindors. Rosalie was ecstatic, a class with Elizabeth. But she also had to talk with Leo, he had been avoiding her the whole morning.

  
“Abella, can I talk to you for a second?”, Eileen asked, her face switching for her usual stoic expression to an anxious one, gripping on books anxiously as she watched Rosalie walk towards her, “yes, what’s the matter?”.

  
“The party, you always look polished and put-together, could you help me fix my appearance?”, Eileen asked, her voice a tone above a whisper as her pale face becoming blue with her words. “Orion Black asked me to accompany him, and, well, could you help me? You can consider it as repaying your debt for me tutoring you,”

  
Rosalie grinned, and agreed, “of course, Eileen, the party is next Friday, how about we meet up at Hogsmeade and pick out a dress?”, Eileen's face brightened and nodded at Rosalie's offer. “Potter is waiting for you”, she pointed at Elizabeth that was resting her back at the cobblestoned walls.

  
Rosalie waved at Eileen and rushed to Elizabeth, she looked a bit better after last night. The blonde quickly said once Rosalie reached to her, “I talked with Wood, he said he believes me and I wouldn’t get eliminated,”.

  
“I had to actually piss on a cup and watch Oscar Weasley hex it so it doesn’t turn pink because pink means pregnant. And merlin, I want to hex Ariadne’s big nose”, Elizabeth said as they approached the moving stairs, “wait, you had to do what now?”.

  
The blonde exhaled sharply and whispered, “I know, it’s terrible and traumatizing, the whole Gryffindor common room now has seen my pee!”, Rosalie's fist clenched around her satchel, Ariadne was the worst.

  
“Other than that terrible experience, Hornby is acting like a git again, and to think I thought he was bearable when he was our friend”, Elizabeth hissed, her hand gripping around the railing harshly, “this year is going to be the worst, I know it”.

  
Rosalie sighed and said with a hopeful tone, to make lighten Elizabeth’s mood, “I wrote to my grandma to send us dresses, for the party!”. And it did the trick, Elizabeth’s smiled and commented, “they better look like her fancy, and extravagant dresses”.

  
Thankfully, Transfiguration went by quickly and peacefully, excluding Ariadne pushing Elizabeth’s buttons to make her lose her nerves. Plus Dumbledore joked about each word she muttered about Rosalie or Elizabeth.

  
“I will talk to Leo, I deserve some sort of explanation about his sudden change”, Rosalie told Elizabeth as the parted ways to their third lessons. Spotting Leo wasn’t difficult, he was taller than most of the students, and his head absorbed in a book he held. It was a piece of cake to find him.

  
But starting a conversation with him was hard, it looked like he builds an invisible wall between him and Rosalie. He wasn’t befriending anyone else, except being a bit closer to Jack's bell. However, the wall was still there, and the space he created between him and Rosalie wasn’t hard to spot.

  
Rosalie picked up her courage and walked towards him, a few seconds before the lesson started, “Leo, can I talk to you?”, she asked. His eyes never left his book, he coldly replied, “The lesson is about to start,”. But he wasn’t lying, Professor Sprout short plump figure walked inside the greenhouse with a large pot in between her arms.

  
Lessons passed, and so did the hours. And approaching Leo was becoming harder and harder. Rosalie wanted a chance, and the chance never came to her. “You still didn’t talk to him?”, Elizabeth asked, they were currently sitting in the Gryffindor table, avoiding Ariadne tiresome actions to make them explode.

  
“No, he keeps avoiding me and giving me excuses that he is busy”, Rosalie answered and stabbed her fork in the plate in front of her. “did you think about Slughorn offer?”, Elizabeth inquired mindlessly as well.

  
“I probably have no choice, he will just convince me to go, and isn’t this the blandest Cornish pasty ever?”, Rosalie whined with a whisper and her face switching unhappily. Maybe Elizabeth's words were true, maybe this will be the worst year so far.

  
“I have Quidditch practice, I will talk to you later,” Elizabeth said and stood up from the table, her plate was still full, “you didn’t eat anything”, Rosalie commented, the blonde shrugged her shoulders, “I have no appetite”.

  
Rosalie recalled her having a prefect duty, she had to assemble the books in the library. And she will just keep on eyeing Leo, who is now camping non-stop there. And reminding herself of her failure in friendships. But to her luck, Leo was assigned to that duty as well.

  
The library was packed, especially with first-years looking around for materials to help them perfect their assignments, it was an easy task for Leo, but being assigned to assemble the book with Rosalie. Leo was avoiding her; this was the worst thing ever for him.

  
And the way the girl was too eager to investigate about his sudden personality change was frustrating, the way she called his name continuously and cornered him at the bookshelf, her eyes demanding an answer.

  
“Tell me why you’re acting like this, right now”, she ordered. Merlin, how she looked beautiful. Leo's heart squeezed in his core. Her orbs were furious, and her tone assertive and stern. “I don’t want to be your friend”.

  
He finally fulfilled her demands, her face switching to pure confusion then she fully backed away. Leo let out a sharp breath, wasn’t he breathing? He wondered. The thought was quickly discarded when he watched Rosalie angrily put the books to their original places.

  
“Wait, I have to explain more,” Leo said, stepping closer until he invaded her bubble. Rosalie glanced at him and said coldly, “Why? You were the one avoiding me the whole day, and since last night as well”.

  
Leo's eyebrows fell and his eyes dimmed, but he was still eager to tell her everything, about his feelings and that he doesn’t want to be her friend for a valid reason. She only sees him as a friend, he doesn’t want that. She liked Tom Riddle for a vague reason.

  
He was certain of that, Persephone liked Tom and he often saw them walking together. In a space, no one else could invade. It was as if he was knocking on the glass, where he could see them, but they can’t. Rosalie never looked at something else when she spots him.

  
Tom wasn’t her friend, but he was. He was there for her when she needed him, but he didn’t ever receive Rosalie's sparkling eyes. Leo groaned and stepped closer to her, “Don’t get me wrong, you’re a beautiful girl and you have a wonderful personality, and I enjoy each second of us being together, however…”.

  
“You see me as a friend, I don’t want to be a friend to you, I want to be more than that”, he whispered and looked into her sad eyes. The girl bit the inside of her cheek as she turned to put the books back on the shelves.

  
“I’m not sure what you mean, we were perfectly fine as friends,” Rosalie said, Leo eyebrows knitted and he held Rosalie's hand, how did it fit perfectly into his, as if puzzle pieces were morphed. He pulled her close to him and said, “you’re being selfish,”.

  
Rosalie attempted to pull away, “Selfish? Just because I think our friendship was the purest tie ever? What more do you want from me?”, Leo let an angry huff, Rosalie was finishing his patience. It’s already frustrating for him to see her look at Tom in a special light. But now she’s completely shutting his feeling for her.

  
“You’re not even giving me a chance! You’re just jumping to conclusions and convincing yourself we won’t be compatible!” Leo hissed, Rosalie shook her head, “I’m saying the truth! We’re so, so different, Leo”.

  
“You don’t know that just give me a chance!”, Leo said loudly. Rosalie stilled with shock, he was becoming desperate. “Just give me a chance, how about we go on a second date and then you can judge?”.

  
“Hogsmeade, this Saturday,” he offered, Rosalie refused, “I can’t, I made a promise,”.

  
“Okay, then come with me to the party,” Leo offered, his eyes becoming eager and expecting her to instantly agree, he had the right. She had to give him a chance. His eyes were roaming around to examine her features for any possible hint about her decision.

  
The sound of a throat being cleared was heard. Rosalie forcefully pulled herself away from Leo’s aggressive grasp. Leo pivoted to look at the person who interrupted them, it was Riddle, of course. He scoffed, Tom always ruined everything.

  
“Slughorn is asking for us,” he shortly informed. Instead of instantly leaving he remained to wait, his hands linking behind his back and he remained to look poised. “You can leave, I have to talk to her about something important”.

  
“I believe my words were clear, Hornby”, Riddle stated, his face remained apathetic. Rosalie glanced at Leo that tightly grasped her wrist. “and my words were sheer as well, leave”. Leo ordered coldly. “Don’t tell me what to do”, Tom said and stepped closer to Leo.

  
Rosalie was uncomfortably standing in the middle of them, the tension between them was growing rapidly. As well as the fire in their eyes, it was getting dangerous. Especially with Tom grasped her other wrist, his touch was cold on her wrist.

  
But it was better than Leo's tight grasp, that was numbing her hand. He didn’t change, he was getting desperate, the girl he loved was falling in the webs of someone else, a man he always despised. Their sharp glares at each other were getting too much.

  
Rosalie turned to Leo and said, “I will go with you to the party, I have to leave now”. Leo finally let go of her wrist, it was slightly bruised as a mark slowly formed there. “I’m sorry about that,” he whispered an apology.

  
“It’s okay,” she murmured, and finally followed Tom towards Slughorn office. Silence spread between them and Tom discarded her hand long ago. But the butterflies in her core were oblivious, and her heart fluttered as she watched him.

  
Everything he did, was to perfection. Even the way he gently breathed. “Why are you looking at me?”, Tom inquired, his eyes never left the corridor in front of him. Rosalie quickly detached her eyes from him, “it’s nothing,” she muttered.

  
The walk was becoming deadly silent towards Slughorn office. “Do you know why he asked to meet us?”, she asked and glanced at him nervously, her eyes looking at him longer than she wished for, “most likely to ask for our final decision”.

  
Silence screamed once again, Rosalie felt like she was wasting time, even if she enjoyed each mere second with Tom, but she had to say something, Tom was slowly warming up to her, she was sure of this. “are you accepting the offer?”.

  
“Yes,” Tom shortly responded. Rosalie ran out of things to say, and the clock was ticking in her head, Tick Tock, you’re losing each second. And the way she way purely looking through her mind to speak of topics, horrendous, she never found anything hard about speaking to him. But it all seemed difficult now.

  
The space between them was expanding, and Slughorn's office was coming to view, Rosalie gave up on the idea of finding something to say to him. It was too late.

  
“Your relative is participating in the Competition? Why?”, Tom questioned, a ticket on a golden plate for Rosalie, she carefully picked out her words to sound educated, then finally replied, “Uagadou rarely hosts this contest, because the prize is the Kandaka locket”.

  
“The Kandakas are female warriors, the founders of Uagadou are all Kandakas. The locket is said to give someone bravery, wit, and leadership skills, However, so far there haven’t been many winners who perfected all the Potions in the contest, the last one was my Grandma,”. Rosalie finished her words once they reached Slughorn's office.

  
By Tom's curious look, and him wanting to question more on the Topic, Rosalie knew what she said must have appealed to him. She knocked on the door, it hurriedly revealed Slughorn standing behind it with enthusiastic eyes.

  
“Huh?! Did you guys finally decide?!”, he asked quickly. Rosalie stepped inside the office first, followed by Tom. His sculpted face morphed into an assuring look, “Yes, sir, an awesome opportunity I can’t deny”.

  
Slughorn gave him an open-mouthed smile then turned to look at Rosalie with and expecting look, “and, Rosalie? What did you decide?”. The girl took her eyes off Tom's face quickly and agreed finally at Slughorn's demand.

  
Slughorn let a satisfied chuckle and made his two students sit down, facing his desk. He flicked his wand and assured the floral cup set to float to them, “Alright, Rosalie I believe you know about this event well, would you mind explaining it to Tom?”. He said and took a folded letter from his office.

  
Slughorn said, standing up and marching towards the door of his office, “uh, I have to send this note to the admission office, as they close in uh,” he raised his wrist to his eyesight as he checked his wristwatch, “merlin in exactly twenty minutes, wait for me I will be here shortly,”. He said and dashed outside his office.

  
Rosalie absentmindedly watched Tom, whose eyes were following his panicked professor. He finally curved his eyesight to Rosalie. Her wide eyes were looking at him with sparkles increasing, something different was swirling in them. Something he only witnessed in his visions of her.

  
Tom cleared his throat, Rosalie slightly jumped and the teacup in her hands scraped on its saucer. “Elaborate,” Tom demanded. She nodded and said, “Right, it consists of three challenges, the first challenge you have to make a specific potion that the head office asks us to make, if you don’t perfect the potions in the timeline of a day, your team is eliminated from the contest, the same goes for the second challenge but the timeline differs, the last challenge you have to make a potion that cures a specific illness, we get further information from the headquarters of the- um, contest”.

  
“that sounds like stealing candy from a child,” He commented once the girl finished her explanation. Rosalie sipped on her tea, “What makes you think that?”, Tom looked at her as if she grew a third head, but again, since when was she not odd to him? “It’s easy, you make a potion and send it to them, this is all? You were nervous for nothing,”, he mocked.

  
Rosalie exhaled, tugged the stray hairs that framed her face away from her eyes, “you get the potion you’re supposed to make in the morning, and you have 12 hours to perfect it, we stay in the dungeons for 12 hours with no access to the outside world, to make a potion that even the smartest witch can’t make without reference, and now we have nine months to prepare for it,”.

  
Tom raised an eyebrow at the girl's words, “nine months?”, he repeated strangely. Rosalie gave him an individual hum, “yes, it takes place in the summer,”.

  
Rosalie quickly stood up as if she remembered something, “ah! Right! I have something to do, could you tell the professor that we can resume our discussion after the slug meeting?”, Tom shook his head as he stood up to leave, but Rosalie bolted without waiting for his answer.

* * *

Patience is a godly blessing, not anyone could master that art. Elizabeth was sure of this, especially by Ariadne calling her: Elizabeth urine Potter three times. The blonde had to detach herself from the immature spiteful girl. She truly didn’t want to start a childish argument.

  
But Ariadne made it a mission to also torment Elizabeth during the slug club meeting. She took the task by heart and said a few rude things to her. Besides the childish names. However, to Elizabeth, Rosalie was the most merciful and patient human-being ever.

  
Elizabeth was aware of the fact that the way to mess with Rosalie, they had to hurt someone she cared for. The brunette was very protective of her loved ones, Elizabeth was confident of this. Nevertheless, Rosalie looked very poised, her head was raised high as she proudly conversed with Professor Slughorn.

  
“Very thorough and an interesting note, Rosalie, very indeed!”, Professor Slughorn said with a wide grin as he looked at Rosalie, she was sitting next to him, Elizabeth on her other side. “What is your far plan? Your grandmother is determined to personally teach you, that, I’m sure of, you’d make a great ruler!”.

  
Rosalie forcefully swallowed the sigh that was sneaking to expose her, she was exhausted of speaking about this matter. Her grandmother sent her many letters to think about coming back to Uagadou. But Rosalie's heart belonged somewhere else, her dream wasn’t to rule a kingdom.

  
The summer she spent in her mother’s cottage, tending to the plants and growing them. Labeling the variety of the vegetations and hopefully making healing potions with them. It was filling her with joy that she only found in Uagadou, and not by learning how to become a proper princess, but by simply surrounding herself by her loved ones.

  
The idea of becoming a botanical witch, with her thirst for knowledge to herbology, it was possible. But, silly and lame. She had a specific plan she had to follow, to rule her kingdom with pride, and make them strong. Rosalie deeply wished that her heart thirsted for power, instead of being a free bird that had no worries.

  
Everything in this life was about power and how to maintain it, but why wasn’t she yearning for it?

  
“I’m still thinking about it, sir”, Rosalie shortly answered, feeling the air in the room was becoming more awkward as she took a bit longer to answer a simple inquire. A loud scoff came from the end of the circular table, they glanced to find Ariadne glaring harshly at Rosalie.

  
Elizabeth neared the Rosalie and whispered in her ear, “Since when did this idiot come to the Slug meetings?”, It was strange undeniably. As Ariadne wasn’t apart of the club the previous year. But it was all answered by Jack awkwardly setting his hand on the petty Ariadne. She must be his plus one. Slughorn clapped his hands as his eyes fell on the clock in the corner of the room, “Right! All along now, it’s time you go back to your dorms”.

  
The chairs scraped on the floor as most rushed to exit the room. Rosalie told Elizabeth, “I have to discuss some things with the Professor, I will see you tomorrow” Elizabeth hummed and bobbed her head, she glanced at Leo and whispered, “did you talk with him?”. the brunette breathed heavily and walked with Elizabeth out of an isolated corner, “yes”.

  
Elizabeth said reassuringly, “Don’t you worry about him, he will-“, she cut her own words with a gasp.

  
Ariadne wasn’t normal, Rosalie was sure of this. The pumpkin juice on Elizabeth’s white shirt leaked to the floor, Ariadne faked a gasp, “Oh my! I didn’t see you!”, Elizabeth's hand came to rest on her wand, her features switched to pure fury, she will hex this loser, and she will make sure she sees her fly across space.

  
Rosalie rested her hand over Elizabeth’s grasp, “It’s alright, mistakes happen”, she ended her angelic words with a matching grin, her hand coming to take out her wand, but before she processes it. Ariadne took the other pumpkin juice glass from the table, purposefully spilling it on Rosalie robes.

  
“That wasn’t by mistake”, Ariadne said smugly. Her arms crossing as she raised an eyebrow, fully expecting Rosalie to explode at this moment. “what’s the princess going to do about it? Sing to the birds to come to rescue her?”, she smugly said.

  
Professor Slughorn shook his head with disbelief at Ariadne's behavior, he looked at Jack that attempted to pull Ariadne away from Rosalie and Elizabeth. Rosalie smiled angelically, “It’s all good fun, I’m sorry for bumping into you”.

  
“You didn’t pump into me, I purposefully spilled on you! Lose your nerves or something! What are you? The ice queen?!”, Ariadne screamed, her face turning red with fury. Professor Slughorn walked to her, determined to give her a proper punishment.

  
“Professor, It’s alright,” she said. Elizabeth looked at Rosalie with surprise, was she truly going to let Ariadne of the hook? Everyone surrounding them was growing with disbelief, but also respect for Rosalie's kind behavior.

  
“I’m only letting you go because Rosalie is a perfect student!”, Slughorn said and dismissed Ariadne and Jack to leave his office. That now consisted of Rosalie and Elizabeth, who were soaked with juice. Tom, that was watching the scene unfold with interest.

  
The brunette took out her wand and flicked it simply, cleaning their once pristine white shirts. “Good night”, Rosalie bid farewell to the blonde. The blonde avoided her eyes and left the office.  
Slughorn sat down on his office as he quickly took out a note from the drawer, “right, so, for practicing to make the Potions, how should we organize that?”, he asked the two students. Rosalie replied with a calculated response, her head raised with pride and her eyes sparkling with pure kindness, to Tom, he couldn’t believe Rosalie handled the situation too well.

  
Her nerves were always in check, which was odd to see in a Hufflepuff, that most likely cared about their friends, “Whatever that you see fit, Professor”, Tom affirmed her words.

  
“I believe it’s you two having to self study for the potions, which means you have access to the Potions classroom whenever you please, outside of class hours, of course, then the library, ah yes!”, Professor Slughorn said and kneeled from his chair to pick out something from the drawer in his desk, he finally took out two keys from them, “the library keys!”.

  
He handed each of them a copy of it, “I had to beg Headmaster Dippet about getting you two these, so, don’t lose them or give them to someone else, understood?”.

  
“Of course, sir”, Tom said.

  
“Understood!”, Rosalie said with a sweet smile.

  
When he finally dismissed them, to which the two found themselves strolling towards their underground dorms. They shared small talk about their schedule, when and where they should meet up to divide books to self-study.

  
Until Tom suddenly said, “Earlier, you should’ve let Professor Slughorn deal with her, and she won’t bother you again”. Rosalie remained silent, watching her steps she descended the wide structure of the stairs. Tom inspected her, curious about her as ever.

  
“Reputation, it’s something we work hard to maintain, me and you”, Rosalie shortly answered as she finally reached the Hufflepuff dorm. Tom's face remained stoic, but he was interested in her words.

Until Rosalie finally said, “We may be different on the surface, but I believe we’re similar in the core, we’re morally grey,”.

  
Rosalie said proudly, but what she didn’t realize the smug grin in Tom's face. He was certain he wasn’t morally grey as she claimed, as comforting this was to Tom, it was also merely sad. She didn’t assume everything about him correctly.

  
The Hufflepuff hole door aggressively opened, revealing a figure with snakes tightly on their robes. But the ear-piercing scream proved it was a girl. “It WAS YOU! YOU DID THIS!”, the voice cried as the aggressively attached to Rosalie’s shoulders, it was Ariadne.

  
Few Hufflepuff students appeared from the dorms. Tom whispered something in parseltongue, and the snakes finally left Ariadne be. But they left her with bruises on her whole body, her face began swelling, “ARIADNE! Stop blaming Rosalie for everything! She rarely comes to the room because you bully her so much!”. Sierra scolded.

  
Rosalie held onto Ariadne limp body and ordered with a firm tone, “Everyone get back inside, I will take her to the hospital wing”.

  
 _It was her, it was that girl that put us in the bed_ , a snake hissed softly to Tom. He looked at who the snakes were looking at, Rosalie. He followed them towards the Hospital wing. Rosalie helping Ariadne to cross the stairs towards the infirmary.

  
And when they reached, Madam Pomfrey pointed at an empty bed to put Ariadne in, she quickly examined the bite marks, her face switching to horror, “These were the adders that attacked you, dear! I have to head to the greenhouse and pluck milk thistle and prepare a potion!”, she whimpered.

  
“Don’t worry, Madam Pomfrey, you can go and I will stay with her and wrap her bruises”, Rosalie softly assured the old nurse, the woman shook her head and her eyes sparkled with tears as if an angel light halo formed there.

  
Her hand patted Rosalie’s head as she said, “aren’t you a good girl? Even after she was terrible to you?”, her feet quickly tapped across the infirmary and out of it as she scolded Ariadne without looking back at her, “merlin, terrible, misbehaving girl!”.

  
Ariadne's eyes welled up with tears, she looked away as she watched Rosalie bandage up her bleeding wounds. “it was you who did it, I know it,” Ariadne said, her voice shaking as tears rolled down her bruised cheeks.

  
“You’re right, I did it”, Rosalie softly said.

  
Once she finished her job she fully stood up from the bed and looked at her from beneath her eyelashes, in something that resembled evil and spite. Ariadne watched her as her mouth opened and her face quivered as she cried silently.

  
“who says all princesses get rescued by someone else? Just because you’re utterly useless in everything you do, doesn’t make me like you, get it?”, Rosalie said, her arms crossing as she stepped closer to Ariadne’s bed.

  
She kneeled to whisper into her ear, “Hurt my friends or my family, and I will ruin your whole life, would you like to see the further extent I will go?”, she asked her last words and tugged harshly on the bandages she wrapped on her leg. Ariadne whimpered and groaned in pain, her tears sob intensifying.

  
“now, say yes, or I will start right now by ruining you, no one will believe you, and no one will suspect me, who will suspect a kind, nice, well-behaved student? I’m on a different level than you”.  
Ariadne furiously nodded and cried more, Rosalie smiled and pulled her hair away from her face as Ariadne shed tears in silence, “good girl,” she whispered and stroked her head gently. Very opposite to her evil words and actions.

  
Madam Pomfrey heels clicked once again as she approached them, her arms holding a potion, “come on girl, drink this quickly,” she ordered and forced Ariadne to drink the bitter liquid. She glanced at Rosalie and said, “dear, you can go back to your dorm, you did amazing tonight”.

  
Rosalie gave her a delicate smile as her heels also clapped on the floor of the Hospital Wing, “good night!”, she said with a wave. Madam Pomfrey gave her a warm smile and said dreamily, “isn’t she the most perfect girl ever? Learn from her you deceitful girl!”.

  
Once Rosalie shut the Hospital wing door behind her, her hand flew to calm her racing heart; startled by Tom's presence. He watched her with a surprised, but pleased eyes, Rosalie raised her eyebrows as she waited for him to say something.

  
But he didn’t, so with calmness wrapping her tone, as well as pride covering her body, “It was Necessary” she then walked few steps away. But Tom followed her, “I never said it wasn’t, I wasn’t expecting you to strike like this”.

  
“I told you, I’m morally grey”, she said with a shrug of her shoulders and resumed her walk. Once again, Tom was certain of this, Rosalie Abella was atypical, unlike the rest and no one was like her. Clever, and knew how to play her cards right. She was interesting. 

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed reading this long chapter! as always, let me know your opinion <3 **


	16. Chapter 14: Curiosity killed the cat.

**Chapter 14: Curiosity killed the cat.**

* * *

  
“Merlin, I still can’t believe you of all people, did that to you know…Ariadne,” Elizabeth stammered, Rosalie chuckled and shrugged her shoulders, “it had to be done, by the way, do you have a date for that party?”, Her eyes wandering to spot a certain raven-haired girl.

  
It was Friday, the day of a Hogsmeade trip, and a few days passed since the Ariadne incident. Elizabeth grimaced and tightened her lips, “I thought we were going together”, Rosalie said with a soft tone, “Leo asked me, and I said yes”.

  
Elizabeth scoffed and glowered at the space, “of course, and I refused every single person that asked me”, Eileen finally showed up, clumsily waving at Rosalie that happily returned the gesture. The brunette turned to look at Elizabeth, “Hey, I’m sorry for not telling you before, besides, there are tons of boys that would kill to accompany you”.

  
“She’s right, Malfoy had been wanting to ask you”, Eileen said hurriedly and clearing her throat before finally giving a curt nod to Elizabeth. Rosalie gasped and yanked Elizabeth's hand in her grasp, “See?! From that blush on your face I believe you will say yes,”.

  
Elizabeth slapped Rosalie hand away as a red hue crept up her face, “Shut it, you know I’m still thinking about that man from the party! And I thought you were going to ask Riddle”, Rosalie cheeks heated as they glowed, Eileen chuckled slightly and followed the two girls out of the Hogwarts gates.

  
“I believe there won’t be any proper places to get a dress, but we can alter it”, Rosalie reassured Eileen with a gentle shake on her shoulder. “But, Malfoy?! I thought he liked Dorea Black”, Elizabeth asked Eileen, the latter shrugged her shoulders and her eyes surveying the road in front of her, “Not really, she liked him, and apparently, he didn’t…”.

  
Rosalie pushed through the first fabric shop she entered, followed by Elizabeth and Eileen. The fabric shop looked grotesque, had a narrow pathway for them to step in, and was filled with rolls of all sorts of fabrics. The owner looked to be a plumb short woman with shaggy hair, she gave them a yellow smile as she watched them get lost between the slim paths.

  
“I think navy blue would look gorgeous on you,” Rosalie said as Elizabeth pulled two rolls of fabrics and brought them to Eileen pale face, “you’re right! It makes her look alive!”. Rosalie slapped Elizabeth's arm and opened her mouth to scold her but was interrupted by Eileen's wheezing laughter.

  
The two girls exchanged knowing looks, Rosalie finally clapped her hands and said, “alright! Let’s distribute and find a beautiful dark blue patterned fabric!”, Elizabeth nodded and walked towards a small path, Rosalie took the one beside it.

  
Her eyes glanced at the small rectangular dirty window. She recognized many students walking excitedly around the streets of Hogsmeade, But she didn’t expect Riddle to be out, he was followed by Malfoy and Black. It wasn’t odd to see the two following him as if he was the leader. But the way they glanced around; they looked suspicious.

  
Rosalie quickly left the little fabric shop and took the same steps they took. Finally, they stopped at a small barn, Rosalie hid under the white fence of the barn as she watched Tom inspect his surroundings. For a long minute, she could hear her heartbeat in her ear.

  
Until he quickly walked inside followed by Orion and Abraxas. Rosalie waited until seconds passed and she approached the barn, the wooden tiles were old and luckily she found a peephole, and eyed the three figures.

  
“With Grindelwald’s loss, how can we be sure that is not going to happen to us?”, Abraxas asked, pacing around the dried wheat plants littering the floor, his steps creaked, “How dare you put me on the same level as him?”, Tom threatened, his wand pointing at Abraxas pale face.

  
Orion said in between his stutters, “he’s just saying that Grindelwald was defeated by Dumbledore, but we still have a whole year before we graduate and what if Dumbledore-“, He was cut by Tom walking dangerously close to him, “I’m not daft, I predicted everything perfectly”.

  
He turned and glowered at Abraxas, “after all, I was the one who killed that mudblood and no one suspected me”, Rosalie hid her gasp, the three boys stopped talking and stilled in their movements, the girl hurriedly scattered away, standing up from the floor as she quickened her steps back to the shop.

  
Elizabeth was standing outside the fabric shop, she grasped onto Rosalie frightened state. “Hey! Where have you been?!”, the shop bells chimed as Eileen exited it. “Where have you been?”, she repeated Elizabeth question, Rosalie cleared her throat and fixed her hair, “I needed a breather, sorry”.

  
“Do you want to go back to the castle?”, Eileen suggested, her thumb pointing back at the Hogwarts campus, Rosalie dismissed her offer with a shake of her head, “Don’t worry, let’s go to the tailor and… uh, give him this design”, Rosalie took out a folded paper from her pocket and opened it to show it to Eileen.

  
The girls looked at the paper to find a silhouette that resembled Eileen with a long dress, that tightened around the hips and flowed at the knees, “Merlin, Rosalie! Just go work at Madam Malkin! That’s gorgeous!”, Elizabeth admired, her hand snatching the paper from her hand.

  
Eileen smiled at Rosalie, “thank you, it looks pretty”, the brunette shared her smile and forced her brain to forget about what she heard at the barn. “Did you guys get the fabric?”, she asked. Eileen lifted a paper bag in her hand and nodded, Elizabeth turned Rosalie’s head, she tilted her head in confusion, “You didn’t wear a bow in your hair today? That’s unusual”.

  
Eileen looked at Rosalie’s head and affirmed Elizabeth note, Rosalie clawed her loose hair and silently gasped, she wore one this morning. It was a pastel pink one and it was the ribbon she liked to wear the most, “I guess I forgot to wear one”, she said with an uncomfortable grin.

  
Then realization hit her, she must’ve lost it either at the fabric shop narrow roads or at the barn. But the brunette knew her luck wasn’t the brightest. And it was most likely the second option. Her assumption was accurate.

  
Rosalie practiced her lie a few times, If Tom ever brought up the fact that she eavesdropped on them, she would look at him in his eyes and say: I was inside the fabric shop the entire time. But as days passed, and sharing quiet time in the library with Riddle. He never brought it up.

  
Or maybe he never realized that whichever happened she was grateful for it. But she found herself unable to look at Tom in the same light anymore. She had a crush on him and maybe her eyes favored looking at him. And this was it, she convinced herself. She still didn’t forget her mission.

  
But she was clueless on what she’d do, all she wanted to do was dive inside the ocean and be unaware of anything, curiosity did kill the cat after all, but she didn’t regret her choice of following them. She is aware of Tom’s real colors and he’d never be able to fool her.

  
It all made sense to her, after all, he was the first witness and he blamed poor Hagrid for everything. Rosalie truly wanted to do something, but, do what? She can’t possibly tell Dumbledore, because a secret is never shared between two. Tom was dangerous, and harmful in every shape.

  
But why did he kill Myrtle? She wasn’t seen and she never dealt with Riddle, for him to construct a whole plan to slaughter her. It didn’t make sense in that way. Rosalie was aware that people had different limits and buttons, and people mainly kill to protect, gain, or simply for pleasure.

* * *

  
The occasional murmurs in the library weren’t heard, it was empty, the older students were busy picking out what they’d wear for the party. The excitement for the party increased once the younger years had their party. Elizabeth insisted on going alone, her mind still lingering around the guy that asked her for a dance at the party her family hosted.

  
Leo's head was held high since Rosalie agreed to go with him, he felt invincible and proud when he declined the three girls that asked to accompany him. But, Rosalie's mind was somewhere else, the Potions championship was taking up her mind and the specific unique letter her father sent her, stating that he was able to locate a place Merope Gaunt was seen in, Borgin and Burkes.

  
Nevertheless, she was still focused on her beating heart once Tom would scoot a bit closer to her, sharing a piece of rare information with her. They had been spending a respectful time together, although it was mostly studying for the contest, Rosalie was content. And she could steal as many glances at him as she’d like. Although she always mentally scolded herself, he wasn’t the perfect Tom Riddle as he claimed.

  
He was the future dark lord, and how could she be surprised? She was already told about his future and that she had to alter everything to avoid the future threats, but the way her heart was pacing when she sees him made her aware of the low curve she was going, come to think of it, she didn’t even have a proper plan to execute, she just followed her guts that mostly failed her.

  
With her silly crush, she noticed his little habits and quirks that he didn’t notice he did, he would rub his index and thumb together while he learned something new in one of the books. And the way he’d slightly narrow his eyes when he didn’t understand something. Of course, Tom did catch her off guard a few times, but Rosalie wasn’t a coward, and she’d justify his inquires with a shrug of her shoulders and return to her work.

  
“you’re going to the party with Hornby?”, Tom asked, bending his head up from the book that took his attention, seeing it as boring and had information he already predicted, he tucked it back to the pile in the table in front of him, and he plucked another book, before opening it, he turned to look at Rosalie. 

  
The girl hummed, flipped a page of the book, and glanced at Tom's eyes, which seemed to be inspecting her. To be frank, when did they not investigate her? “I imagined you’d pour your attention to what’s actually important, rather than going to an irrelevant party”, Tom said, beginning to read through the book.

  
“It’s harmless, going to a party and planning to have a good time”, Rosalie said, picked a quill as she quickly noted a new ingredient benefit. She made a mental note to check on the ingredients cabinet later. Her mental thinking line was cut by Tom talking smugly, “With Hornby? You have some low standards”.

  
Rosalie turned and gave him a sharp look, “Don’t say that, he’s a great bloke” she demanded, Tom chuckled and flipped through another page in his book, completely disregarding Rosalie anger that was slowly building up. 

  
“What happened to you? I was certain you favored me”, his voice was silky and soft, and playful enough to make Rosalie face heat up, and before she could ask him how he knew that and before she could weave a lie to hide her feelings, “of course I would notice, have you seen how you act around me?”.

  
He faced her, her cheeks flaming and her lower lip was in between her teeth as she glared at him, “why the angry look? I’m just stating facts, I was waiting for you to cancel going with him and ask me instead, all so I could decline you”, he said proudly, a triumph look on his face.

  
Rosalie exhaled sharply, and her hands collecting her belongings at a shooting star speed. Her blush deepening and humiliation soaking her heart and mind, before she left Rosalie faced Tom and said, “Unlike you predicted, I didn’t cancel, and I won’t ask you. But again, when were your predictions ever correct about me?”, with a last glare, and a flip of her hair she left the library.

  
“That stupid, foolish, rude, disrespectful boy”, Rosalie hissed under her breath as the library door shut behind her, the way her heels clicked loudly under each step she took, and fumes were practically leaving her ears, she was furious and each student that crossed her path made their way out of her road. 

  
She shouldn’t be surprised, of course, she’d be exposed with the way she’d been acting. She was acting like a schoolgirl with a crush, but in fact, she is a schoolgirl with a crush, she violently shook her head and took a halt in her angry walk, “Get your self together”, she told herself strictly.

  
She continued her walk and began to think loudly and talk to herself hotly, “It was expected from him anyway, he was right, I was acting stupid, and here I thought he was nice to me. Who am I kidding? That’s Riddle we’re talking about”, she stopped and gulped, “thankfully, I believe I can control my feelings”, she told herself, or more like convinced herself.

  
“Abella”,

  
Leo deep voice called, he was standing a few steps before her. Rosalie realized she was close to the Ravenclaw dorms, she’s been walking a straight line from exiting the library and she was so deep in her embarrassment that she didn’t notice where she was.

  
She stepped a few steps close to him, she gave him a questioning hum, “what now? Are you going to make sure that I don’t forget about tomorrow?”, her words were right, Leo had been coming up to her at least three times a day to talk to her about the party. She had no idea it was solely because Leo wanted to talk to her, but he didn’t know how to strike up a conversation with her after they stopped being friends.

  
And he did regret his decision a few times, but he convinced himself it was the right one. “That’s impossible, I have been reminding you about it for a while now, if you do forget I will start questioning your mental powers”, he said with a calculated respond, his head held high as he had a smirk on his face.

  
Rosalie spirits were already in the mud after Tom's words to her, and for Leo to add up to her. She had no energy for both and the decision of throwing everything out and going to the party with Elizabeth looked very pleasing to her. But she decided not to do anything whilst her feelings was reeling her.

  
She heaved a sigh and shook her head at Leo, she walked away and Leo took further steps to follow her and finally caught up to her. The sight of an annoyed Rosalie was satisfying to him, she descended the stairs and hugged her books tighter to her chest. 

  
“Where are you going? Curfew is in fifteen minutes”, Leo asked her as his hands were stuck inside his pockets, Rosalie stepped down the stairs faster and hoped Leo would give up on following her, but his long legs gave him advantage.

  
She quickly gave up, turned to face him, and said breathlessly, “to sleep! And I have no energy to play with you”, Leo simply raised an eyebrow, “I wasn’t going to, but now you’re tempting me”, she scoffed and continued her walk to the Hufflepuff dorms. He smirked and escorted her silently.

  
Even if he took two steps backward and one step forward, it was still better than the invisible distance between them. Although he was the one who cut everything and decided to rearrange their tie, it was for the greater good.

* * *

“I don’t want your help!”, Tom said as he slapped the woman's hands away. They were resting by a large tree, Tom broke his leg as he was trying to cast a powerful spell towards the aggressive pack of Blemmyae.

  
They were disgusting giants with their heads morphed into their necks, they had no mercy and their only goal was to protect their land from Rosalie and Tom. Even if Tom and Rosalie intended to just pass by the small ground the Blemmyae pack called home.

  
Communicating with them was impossible, they plucked the trees from its roots and bombed it towards the two humans. Getting out of the pack was difficult but it wasn’t impossible, so they did that by casting powerful spells and escaping the scene before one of the trees hit them or the pack giant hands succeeded in grasping them.

  
Even if the trees didn’t directly hit them, the strong branches did. Rosalie broke her arm and an ugly wound from her shoulder towards her waist. While Tom's arms were dislocated and bled destructively.

  
“I know! But you need it!”, Rosalie cried and tried to make him sit still. Tom shook his head and kicked her away from him, directing a painful kick on her wounded waist. The woman grunted as she cried in agony. She held onto her waist, her robes were quickly drenching with blood by Tom kick opening her wound again.

  
Tom watched her double over her stomach, she held onto her wand tightly then she apparated from him. Tom stared at the place she once was in, he breathed heavily as the pain was running from his wound towards his head. From the amount of blood that seeped out, he tried to tighten the fabric Rosalie wrapped around his shoulders.

  
He truly wanted to do all of this by himself but how? Both of his shoulders were in a bad shape, and when he tried to force his hand to move they didn’t, the nerves were disconnected from his shoulders and arms. He didn’t know what to do. However, he called in Parseltongue from any possible snakes to help him in any sort of way.

  
But none, all he got was jumping rabbits that escaped from his evil aura. Tom didn’t regret anything in his life, but he truly regretted not letting Rosalie help him. But, of course, she would leave. He hurt her and she had enough from him.

  
Looking back, Tom doesn’t remember one time he was acting proper to her. But she took his insults with a smile and had his back. She was strong and it was a loss that she left. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, Rosalie was a good companion.

  
She was strong, clever, and kind. And she always helped him no matter what, even with the string of insults and threats that left his mouth. Maybe he shouldn’t have kicked her away. However, Tom didn’t lose his motivation and he wouldn’t die, no, not like this. In such a pathetic way.

  
He fully tightened the fabric by his teeth and stood up. What broke his expectations, Rosalie came running to him, she apparated half the way and made him sit down again. “Merlin! I go to heal my wound and come back to this?”.

  
Tom forcefully sat down by the base of the tree and watched her place her palm on his shoulder and mutter a few spells, the bones slowly started to mend, as his open skin was doing the same, but much slower.

  
Wandless magic and she was specialized in healing perfectly. He didn’t feel a thing but he could see his scar vanishing. Once she finished on his left shoulder, she turned to his right shoulder and doing the same.

  
“Where did you go?”, Tom asked her. Rosalie looked into his eyes and responded, “I had to go heal my waist, I was behind those trees”, she turned her jaw to the trees behind the tree he was resting in. Everything made sense now, she didn’t leave him.

  
“Did you think I left? Come on, Tom! By now you should’ve known that I care about you”, She pushed her body back from him, and his shoulder was healed now. He tried to raise his hand, and it did. His fingers obeyed him perfectly.

  
Tom looked inside her eyes, trying to look for any signs of hypocrisy. But he didn’t find any. Her eyes bloomed with something he wasn’t familiar with. Care and affection, was this what made her stay with him? Was this what made her get by his rude behavior towards her?

  
Maybe Rosalie wasn’t as bad as he painted her to be, she wore her heart in her sleeve, of course. Besides, she wasn’t someone with twisted intentions and a black soul. She would be his perfect puppet. And he was glad to be the perfect puppeteer to someone that cared about him deeply.

  
He said his first lie, “I’m sorry about kicking you”, he said. “I accept your apology, just don’t do it again”. She said as she stood up. By his first lie, he can tell she already sensed her being closer to him, whether it was attraction or the strong fragrance of her loving personality.

  
“How do I repay my debt?”, he asked, Rosalie breathed mournfully, and a thought was engraved in her mind, Tom always imagined the worst in everyone. He expected that everyone had low objectives they wanted to accomplish by doing simple human actions.

  
“I’m bad at saying these things and I don’t know how to act if someone helped me, so I try not to put myself in those situations”, he elaborated when he saw her face scrunched up with uncertainty at his words, he was unaware of her thoughts but from her features, it was aware she didn’t like what he said.

“This is foolish, we’re all humans and it’s alright to rely on each other, even if your pride let you just remember that pride wouldn’t help you live”, she said with a strict tone, and it was the most serious tone he heard from her. She was usually playful and liked to enjoy the scenery or ride any hippogriff that would come across them.

  
Tom looked away from her and explained his thought process to her, “aspiring to be the best and to avoid help from others who will betray me, it’s better”. Rosalie stood up and sat next to him, she said carefully, “if that what makes you go in life then that’s great, but you have to understand that those willing to help you will never betray you, like me”, she said the last word proudly.

  
Tom faced her and watched her pluck weed from the soil as it bloomed into a full rose in her hand, she extended it to him and said with a sincere grin, “Because I know myself the best, and I know I will never steep low as to let down someone I care about”.

  
His dull expression softened and he slowly took the flower from her hands, he twirled it and inspected it. And when he looked once again at her, he found her beaming sincerely at him. She was sincere and pure and for the first time, he felt empathetic for ever thinking about using her.

* * *

  
The sugary cream-colored dress hugged Rosalie's upper body perfectly, then it flowed under her waist gently. The sleeves were off-shouldered and tiered with gentle frills around the hems, and her hair resembled the waves of the ocean, with the red lipstick tinting her lips, she looked stunning.

  
“You look ethereal”, Leo whispered once she stepped closer to him, her cheeks flushed under his stare and words, but she managed to have a good look at him. Leo was a very handsome man, but on this evening, he took off his glasses, most likely a piece of advice he received from his sister that enjoyed bullying him.

  
He looked taller than he already is, with a royal blue tuxedo set and a matching vest underneath, everything looked sharp and neat. His light brown hair was styled away from his forehead, and Rosalie believed it was most likely the first time she saw his temple.

  
Leo extended his hand to her, Rosalie put her hand inside his grasp and he raised her hand to press a delicate kiss to her knuckles, Rosalie face flamed and she wanted to bury herself alive with embarrassment, what surprised her that Leo wasn’t bothered, he had a smug smirk.

  
Then he offered his arm to her, Rosalie awkwardly linked their arms and walked with him, her heart racing when her eyes were looking at the students she got used to seeing their faces, they all wore their most extravagant robes and dresses. The excitement was building in her heart, she truly loved classy parties.

  
They strolled towards the great hall, the twin doors were open to welcome the students. The large tables were replaced with small circular tables around the hall. Everything was set to perfection. Lots of couples began dancing, and Rosalie's heart etched her to join the fun. However, when she glanced at Leo, his face was stoic as he glared at someone.

  
He then detached his arm from Rosalie’s, he muttered a quick apology and strode across the hall. Rosalie found him walking towards his younger sister, Olive, who most likely snuck inside the party. She gave a sharp sigh and walked towards the corner tables as she watched the couples dance, envy slowly filling her heart.

  
A hand came to squeeze her shoulder, Rosalie instantly turned to look at Elizabeth. She wore a flaming red dress, it was a sleeveless ballgown with dainty floral designs around her waist, and her hair was curled into wide curls as she let it down, she looked beautiful.

  
“Merlin, you look gorgeous!”, Rosalie exclaimed eagerly, the blonde twirled gently and said, “I know! The dress is stunning! Please send my gratitude to your grandma!”, and then her hazel eyes traced Rosalie look before she said, “and you look, rather I say, ravishing!”.

  
Rosalie giggled, Elizabeth stuck her hand to Rosalie as she said elegantly, “and now, m’lady, would you care for a dance with me?”, Rosalie instantly grasped her hand as the two girls joined the center of the hall, and before the first song finished, Rosalie was pulled away from Elizabeth.

  
“I thought I was your date”,

  
The two girls turned to look at Leo, Elizabeth rolled her eyes, “you were the one to let her wait, don’t you know what they say? Never make a lady wait”, her jaw was stuck high as she looked at Leo as if he was a mere insect. The previous responded, “you’re right, and for that, I’m sorry Rosalie, now if you will allow us”.

  
He then pulled Rosalie away from Elizabeth, he stepped few steps away from her and folded his arm around Rosalie’s waist. “Can we go back to Elizabeth?”, she asked gently and directed her orbs from the pouting blonde to his eyes, he was already looking at her, and it didn’t seem like he looked at someone or something else.

  
Leo’s fingers interlocked with her fingers, “No, allow me to be selfish tonight, after all, you agreed to be mine this night, no?”, Rosalie felt a shiver run down her spine, her breath hitch in her throat, and her body tensed, since when did Leo Hornby become this confident? And when did he strip away the layer of shyness that overcome him each time, she’d tease him or compliment him?

  
With that, a whole hour or so passed with Rosalie only being stuck to Leo. Each time Elizabeth would join them, he’d drag Rosalie away, until Elizabeth gave up and joined the group of her Quidditch team.

  
“Abella, and Hornby! My, I wouldn’t have expected you two”, Slughorn exclaimed, sipping from the pumpkin juice in the tall cup. “I do think you two look good together”, he said, Leo face blushed heavily yet he smiled bashfully and thanked, “Thank you, professor”, Slughorn nodded with a small grin. However, his grin widened when he laid his eyes behind Leo's head.

  
“Riddle, I was wondering when you will appear! You don’t want to miss out on this fancy party!”, Slughorn exclaimed happily, Rosalie's heart was beating insanely but she forced her face to remain stoic, she looked away with a quiet scorn.

  
From the corner of her eyes she can see Riddle standing next to Slughorn, his hair styled like the usual and he seemed to be wearing black trousers and a rich black formal shirt neatly tucked inside the high-waisted band, he didn’t even bother to wear a tie but he still looked alluring, and Rosalie hated herself more for thinking that.

  
Leo looked unsettled by Riddle's sudden arrival, especially when the latter had a proud smirk in his face. Slughorn was blind to the thick tension between his students. “why were you late, Riddle? And you two, when did you start dating?”, Slughorn asked with slight interest.

  
“I was reading and summarizing what I read, for the potions contest”, Riddle answered, Slughorn smiled proudly at him and his eyes twinkled as if he found a secret winning card in between his students, then he looked at Leo and Rosalie to answer his second question.

  
Leo cleared his voice and responded, “We have been friends for a bit, I decided to get the courage and to ask her”, Slughorn nodded slowly and sipped from juice, clearly losing interest, his eyes wandered away for a bit. Rosalie was growing uncomfortable from Riddle look on her, then the devil boy let a small chuckle and said, “yet she doesn’t fancy you”, his voice was low enough for Leo and Rosalie to pick up what he said, but not Professor Slughorn.

  
And before Leo could react, Riddle grasped Rosalie and twirled her quickly from Leo’s arm, “I’m stealing her for a bit”, Slughorn eyes returned to the new departing couple and glanced at Leo as he nodded at him awkwardly with a smile, Leo gritted his jaw and a vein popped in his neck from rage, but he contained it.

  
Tom's arm circled Rosalie’s waist and his hand took her other hand, Rosalie looked up into his eyes sharply as they stepped into perfect steps, to fall into a rhythm with the music notes. “What are you doing?”, Rosalie asked.

  
They dipped in sync flawlessly, there wasn’t any flaw in their elegant dance, as if it was practiced and executed a thousand times. Rosalie's question was dismissed by a gentle hush from Tom, and with his dark orbs looking at her only, she forgot about everything.

  
“I’m proving to you how smitten you’re with me, just look at you”, Tom whispered, Rosalie face fell and her eyes dimmed at his words, she didn’t utter a word, hoping that she was imagining him say that, but he proved that she was false with another low whisper, “From that look on your face it looks like if I tell you to drop dead right now, like myrtle, and you’d do it”.

  
Tom whispered again, “of course I know it’s you, the little deer that pried on us”, Rosalie eyes widened at his words, shock coating her system and she felt the need to do something about it, but she sealed her lips shut and resumed to glare up into his eyes.

  
Sneakily, he wrapped the pink ribbon around her golden necklace, the rose pendant was hidden perfectly under the ribbon, Rosalie slowly took it off and glanced at it. They stopped dancing, and without her realizing, Tom seemed to drag her out of the great hall. Once her consciousness returned to her, she was standing next to the main stairs; that was isolated from the great hall, but the loud music could still be heard lowly.

  
“So, what are you going to do with the new information?”, Tom asked calmly, but Rosalie was smarter to know it was a façade, he was the devil impersonated in a human, an insanely beautiful human that stole her heart and captivated her senses.

* * *

**lmao Tom really said "I'm crazy but you like that", and I know Rosalie now seems like a weakling in this chapter, but believe me, she will get her shit together soon. Thoughts are appreciated and needed!!**


	17. Chapter 15: Chaotic Jealousy.

**Chapter 15: Chaotic Jealousy.**

* * *

Rosalie's eyes traced Tom orbs silently, her gaze dropped to stare at his tight grasp around his wrist. He was standing erect and attentive to her reply, which was currently delayed by her heavy thoughts and judgments about him. Tom tilted his head to prompt her to answer.

When the only thing he received was her heavy glare, he pinched her wrist tighter, her right had completely numb now. “Choose your next words wisely”, he said. Rosalie frown deepened and hate for him was ignited in her heart. How was she this blind?

She didn’t like him, she liked the image he portrayed for her. He had many layers that were peeling to show his real colors. Rosalie snatched her wrist from his grasp, so swiftly that Tom only felt the sensation of the cold air replace her warmth in his palm.

How stupid was she, she scolded herself. “I hate you so much”, she whispered and her heels clapped across the cobblestones. Tom pulled both of her hands back, pushed her on the wall. Her glare at him sharpened, she tried to escape his hold but he made her stand still.

“I will take that with a pinch of salt, doll, didn’t your mother teach you manners? When somebody asks a question…”, he trailed his words and pulled both of her hands above her head, his left hand squeezing her cheeks to look at him. “You must answer”, he growled lowly.

Rosalie was fully trapped, but she didn’t break their eye contact for half a second. Her heart beating on her rib cage insanely, but her hate for the man standing in front of her was only increasing rapidly. “no, I really do hate you so much”.

Tom chuckled darkly and set her free, “Sure”. Rosalie sighed and soothed her flaming wrists. “Fine, I wouldn’t tell anyone, I will even swear on my magic to prove it…but on one condition!”, Rosalie said. Tom raised an eyebrow, “If you want me to stop my plans, that won’t happen”.

“Just promise me that you won’t ever deceive me”, she said and pushed her hand to Tom. He narrowed his eyes at her, “Why’s that?”. Rosalie quickly replied, “because I liked you for your lies, I’m done now”.

Tom slowly took her hand, a glowing golden hue enveloped their fingers and spread around their bodies. The second the hue evaporated, Rosalie pulled her hold away as if Tom was a blazing fire that stung her skin.

She shot him one last meaningful look, full of all the things Tom never expected from her. Full of judgment and growing spite, very honest to her previous words. Rosalie turned on her heel and took a few steps away from Riddle. Leo appeared around the curve of the corridor. He was breathing heavily, and his eyes settling on Rosalie stature, full of concern.

“Are you alright? What happened?”, Leo asked Rosalie, taking many steps to reach her. His hand taking her hands and diving in her dark orbs. Rosalie slightly blushed but lifted her shoulders and answered, “yes, Riddle had to talk to me about something”.

Leo's face scrunched at Riddle mention and stared at him for a short while. Rosalie pulled Leo and directed him back to the great hall. Rosalie's heart was filled with heavy feelings. But, she mostly disliked herself. Blaming her own heart that made her even think about liking the façade of someone.

She was disappointed, yes, and she was feeling deceived. As if she was living in a lie that she weaved. Like a white lie that she enjoyed for a while, but then the white turned to grey and the grey appeared to be black. A black lie that made her very miserable.

She should stay away from Riddle, maybe her intervening was the reason that she ruined her life. Yes, it was most likely that. Her heart was directing her towards the cluster of emotions and the thrill of danger. She was naïve, still naïve. However, she believed she won’t do the same mistake twice. Stay away from Riddle.

With each of them in their own thoughts, Leo swimming in the lake of jealousy and envy. Of seeing his beloved look at another man with a look he ever got the delicacy to receive. What did he do wrong? What was it that Rosalie liked so much about Riddle that she didn’t see in him?

The young night aged and the party ended. The headmaster advised everyone a restful sleep and sent them all towards their dormitories. Although, Leo was quick to leave the lake of jealousy when Rosalie pressed a warm kiss to his cheek, bid him a good night.

* * *

“How did you do it?”, Voldemort asked slowly. His face turned away from Rosalie, that was looking at the empty bland wall. Slight creaks could be heard from the unstable wooden floor, the loud thunder howling into the sky to create streaks of lightning across the horizon. The sky was velvety navy. The raindrops trickled from the glass windows, some leaked inside the cold and humid room.

It’s been days, uncountable on several hands. Rosalie's mouth was still tightly shut, her eyes refusing to look at Voldemort, and even if they did she would glare, and he wondered when her hate for him would die, but it never did. And it seemed as days passed, it increased and bubbled in her core.

He was getting impatient at the girl's lack of response, and he used every trick he knew to make her speak to him. But nothing worked, the crucio spell made her grunt and cry in pain, it did make her utter few words to him afterward, but she only spat at how much she loathed and wished she never met him.

But seeing her take in a great amount of pain, rather than apologizing or giving him meaningless words to make her life easier. It made him frustrated and furious. It was something of the many things about her that he liked, but now her stubbornness was driving him mad.

“Dream messenger”.

Rosalie let a hoarse whisper, she didn’t use her vocal cords for a long while. Tom bent his head to look at her, her back turned to face him, her arms folded around her knees to bring them closer to her. She flicked her orbs at the raindrops that escaped from the window and trickled down the murky wall.

“I used the dream messenger way to contact my fifteen-year-old self”, Rosalie said finally, “Why are you telling me this so easily?”, Tom inquired, taking three steps to the bed she sat on. Rosalie felt the end of the bed sink as Tom ghostly hovered his hand on her back, she straightened her slouched back to avoid his touch.

“So you can do it too, and we avoid that all of this happens again”, she finally admitted. Tom was vaguely aware of the dream messenger method, he does recall reading in a book about Uagadou, that this method was used to tell the students that they were accepted into it. Unlike Hogwarts and many other schools that sent letters.

“That may be, in an alternative world… I would still have my loved ones, and that my daughter would still be there”, she said softly, her index finger coming to swipe a lone tear that escaped from her eyes, just like how the raindrops escaped from the window.

To be exact, her insides were too numb. Unlike the loud storm outside, she was feeling numb and cold without any feelings other than immersive sorrow filling her insides. Tom growled and yelled, “You have NO daughter! Your only loved one is ME!”, he stood up from the bed that jerked at the loss of weight and made the thin Rosalie fall towards the damp mattress.

Her heartbeat was slowing as she watched Tom throw the moldy books in the coffee table at the wall she once looked at. He flipped the coffee table that shattered into million pieces, a shard of glass came to pierce Rosalie’s exposed leg. And, honestly, she didn’t care or shudder as Tom was blowing up the room with his anger at her words.

Loud knocks came from the squeaky door. Soon, Eileen pushed it open as she held a tray in between her hands. She said slowly, her head bowed, “I came to deliver her food”, Tom waved at her and exited the room with a frustrated huff.

Eileen eyed Rosalie form, laying on the messy bed in a fetal position, her hands gathered under her jaw as she lazily blinked at Eileen. The latter woman placed the tray on the bed and pushed it towards Rosalie.

Moments passed and Rosalie remained at her position, looking at the food with a dreadful look. Eileen whispered, “You have to eat”. Rosalie breathed thickly, sat upright, and turned to look at the window once again.

Eileen sat on the bed with her, and her soft hand came to pull Rosalie to face her, “Please eat, you didn’t anything for days now”. Still, she received no answer from the woman. Her lips tightly shut and her eyes looking emotionless as ever.

“I know you hate me for what I did to you, I-“, Eileen began and stifled a sob escaping from her throat. Rosalie watched her idly, her head turned to the side, “I don’t hate you, you said he threatened to kill your husband”.

Eileen's face stilled with shock, her lower lip quivered as she shook her head, “You’re insane, I betrayed you”. Rosalie shrugged her shoulders as she pushed away from the tray of food from her, and rested her back on the bed, “you did betray me, but I don’t hate you or blame you”.

Eileen sighed and asked, “Is there anything you want me to do for you? I can’t help you escape…”, Rosalie's eyes beamed and she said, “there’s something you can do for me”, Eileen glanced at the door worriedly, she scooted closer to Rosalie and whispered, “what?”.

The brunette sat up “Kill me”, she said simply and shortly. Eileen's eyes dimmed and her eyebrows dropped to a frown, “I can’t do that either”, she declined. Rosalie flopped her body on the springy bed once again, her face snuggled in the white sheets.

Eileen's hand patted Rosalie’s head, her fingers gently pulling on the curls. It reminded her of the hair of the recruit, Bellatrix. That woman loathed Rosalie with all her heart, especially once she realized she was the lord lover, Bellatrix spoke so poorly of Rosalie and only stopped when Voldemort was around. Eileen suddenly pushed Rosalie to face her and said, “But I have an idea, that won’t put me in trouble and will get you what you want”.

Rosalie listened attentively to Eileen's next words, “there’s this recruit, Bellatrix Black, she’s the daughter of Orion’s brother. That vile woman, she’s crazy about the lord. She hates you so much, I will make her send you lunch tomorrow and the day after, if you get on her nerves…”.

The woman trailed her words, her hand squeezed on Rosalie’s bony fingers, then she hissed carefully, her eyes flicking to the door, “she will kill you, she’s young and hot-headed… and very reckless acts without thinking”.

Eileen pushed herself from the bed, dusted her dress, and gave Rosalie one last stare before she whispered, “I’m sorry for being a terrible friend for you”. Rosalie weakly grinned at her, the first time she’d done in years, “If I die, just know that I forgive you”.

* * *

As Autumn approached, the leaves on the trees turned auburn and some branches were stripped of it. With the Quidditch season approaching, Rosalie was mostly spending her days alone. Elizabeth was practicing half of her time, and the other half she spent it sleeping to recharge her energy.

Although, Rosalie truly wasn’t whining. She had too much on her plate as well. She had to study early for their N.E.W.T.s, and prepare for the potions championship. She quickly found herself forgetting about Riddle, who she never has spoken to after that night.

The only communication they had was exchanging papers full of information. Slughorn was cross with that because they were a team after all. But as he tried to speak to them out of their attitude, Rosalie ignored his speech about them being in a team, and Tom mostly stuck to smiling politely at him.

But as Tom and Rosalie drifted apart, Leo has gotten closer to Rosalie. The wall that was separating them wasn’t there anymore. And as Elizabeth wasn’t there to block him away, he was always around Rosalie. Conversing with her about any random thing that he thought of on the top of his mind, Rosalie remained polite and listened to him ramble about information he found fit to speak about.

She would occasionally nod her pretty head and smile at him, and today was no different. He spoke until he had nothing to speak of, he shut his mouth and glanced around him awkwardly. They were currently sitting in the great hall, specifically at the Ravenclaw table.

Out of the blue, Leo's hand darted to cover Rosalie’s fingers. The girl eyed him as if he had grown a head before her. Leo lifted her hand and compared it to his wider hand, “Your hand is abnormally small”, he commented.

Rosalie attempted to pull her hand away with a flushed face, but the boy seemed to think otherwise as he fumbled with her smaller hand with a shy grin on his face. “Abella,” a voice called and the two shy students whipped their heads to look at Riddle, standing tall with his arms linked behind his back.

His cold eyes came to look at Leo's hand enfolding Rosalie’s, the girl pulled her fingers from underneath Leo’s. “Professor Slughorn is asking to see us”, he said with a stone-cold tone that matched his expression. Rosalie instantly stood up from the bench, took her satchel from the table.

“And why do you always have to call for her? Professor Slughorn could send her a note”, Leo said with his eyes narrowed. He stood up as well to be at the same level of stature as Riddle. To soothe his pride, Tom watched him silently, and Leo was getting more impatient.

Tom smirked and asked, “why does it bother you?”. Leo's face glowed with a red hue, he was getting angry. Leo opened his mouth to speak, as he was getting his words organized in his mind, Rosalie interrupted him, “I will come to see you later, let’s watch Elizabeth match together, alright?”.

Leo raised shoulders fell, he nodded at the brunette. Rosalie beamed at him as she waved him goodbye and stepped away with Riddle. They walked in utter silence, and without any thoughts to occupy Rosalie’s head, the walk towards Slughorn’s office was long.

“Look at you trying to persuade yourself that you like Hornby”, Tom said sharply, his words pierced through the silence, Rosalie hummed at him with shock, she looked at him with a repulsed face, “Pardon?!”, she said, a layer too loud of her usual soft voice.

“You heard me”, Tom said, Rosalie stopped walking, “I like Leo, and why do you care?”, Tom sneered, turned to glance at the side before he finally said, “It bothers me that you put me on the same level as, him”.

“Leo is a wonderful bloke, you’re way too self-absorbed to see it”, Rosalie didn’t let his words hang for too long in the atmosphere. Her eyes glowing with pure anger, Tom chuckled darkly and shook his head, “I don’t have to look at him twice to tell that he is a complete and utter blithering idiot… I would say you downgraded, from liking Me to him”.

Rosalie stepped further away from him, her angry face suddenly soothed, then her lips cracked into a playful smirk, very similar to a Cheshire cat grin. Tom blinked at her with confusion, then it turned to curiosity as she crossed her arms, lifted her jaw at him as she said, “I know why you’re acting like this”.

Before Tom could speak, she bounced closer to him and shrieked, “You’re jealous!”. Tom shook his head and continued walking, “I’m not talking with you, you’re childish”. Rosalie laughed and walked side by side with him, their shoulders occasionally touching, “Oh yes you are! Otherwise, why would it bother you so much? Besides, you haven’t spoken to me for a month now! And the first thing you say to me is that it bothers you that I like Leo-“

“The only reason it bothers me so much is that you put me on the same level as him, I’m not like that himbo, and why would I be jealous? Because I want you? Stop lying to yourself, you’re a dumb little girl, who might I say is tremendously obnoxious and imprudent”, Tom snapped, his voice getting higher as he said each word. Venom leaking from his voice. When he finished he saw Rosalie’s surprised face.

For a split second he regretted his words, he was waiting for the moment her eyes would sparkle and water with tears, or to run away with tears in her eyes. However, Rosalie narrowed her eyes at him and said, “that’s hurtful Tom. And, Leo isn’t a himbo, he’s really smart”.

Then her fist raised to knock on the door, the door opened instantly that revealed Professor Slughorn, he exchanged greetings with Rosalie, that her smile returned to her face brighter than ever, and if Tom looked deeper, he would see a light blush on her face.

During the meeting, she laughed more, and included him in the conversation, she would directly talk to him, just like before. Which it wasn’t something she did after the party that was a month ago. Tom hated the fact that he noticed all of this, he purposefully ignored his racing heart.

When the meeting ended, they walked out of the office, and they walked in silence again. But Rosalie had some sort of a smile that he noticed never left her face. All of a sudden, her face dropped and her eyes turned uncertain, the smile left as well.

Tom wanted to ask, but Rosalie visibly walked several steps away from him, her eyes avoiding him. “What is it now?”, Tom scowled. Rosalie refused to look at him, she glanced at each side of the empty corridor, “You killed Myrtle Warren, didn’t you?”.

Tom rolled his eyes and examined her troubled face, “don’t ask questions you already know the answers to”. The girl shook her head in disbelief, her hatred for him laid once again in her heart, she remained quiet for the rest of the walk. Once they came face to face with the main hall that connected most corridors.

Rosalie's eyes spotted Leo, she turned to shoot a disgusted look to Tom. Before her legs took her towards Leo, she intertwined their hands together and gave Tom a hard look, Leo face flushed with a heavy blush. Rosalie finally looked at Leo and she said, “let’s go”.

Even with the sea of students, Tom could still see Rosalie and Leo. Holding hands and with the happy smile on Leo’s face, he concluded he would never shake his hand out of Rosalie’s grasp, at all. Tom's core tightened and emptiness fluttered his insides.

* * *

With a clutched parchment on her hand, and the loud steps she made as her tall stature glided across the halls of the mansion, everyone knew better than to stand in her way. Canna was raging, her breathing was turning to match her livid mentality.

The letter she never expected made her go through a different level of anger, especially when the contents were from her cousin, that was supposed to be on a journey in the forests of Albania for the previous four months.

Rosalie, the girl that was always one step ahead of Canna, that was always favored by Fida, sent a letter to Canna. Expressing how she’d never wanted to rule a nation, that she never thought she was fit to the responsibility. And, Canna had to agree, she never imagined Rosalie fit in that position. Yes, the girl was strong and a brilliant witch, no matter how much Canna hated to admit it.

But, Rosalie's personality was too soft, too gullible, and too emotional to do all of that. Canna was certain of that, and she never wavered on her opinion. However, she respected Fida’s opinion. Canna had massive respect for Fida, but after the letter that was sent to her, by Rosalie. Canna had no other way but to be raging at her Grandmother.

That she’d blamed she turned soft. Canna never understood how someone like Rosalie made Fida so soft. Fida and Aurelia would never admit that the Queen got soft. To be frank, no one would, but Canna is brave enough to admit it, and she would put her grandmother on the right path, make her see facts like she used to.

And this is what she was doing, Canna threw away all the honorifics and her manners. Her leg raising and kicking the massive golden door open, towards the Queen study, where she was currently sitting in with Aurelia, Canna’s mother.

To Canna minimum surprise, Zane was also there, the three of them seemed to be talking about something light-hearted, but their jubilant expressions fell at Canna rude entry, that could be described as an invasion.

“Where are your manners?!”, Aurelia screamed, standing up and facing her daughter, she looked as she was ashamed of her. Canna didn’t care for once, she was already livid and she’d set things straight.

“I have something to tell you, all three, so sit down and listen to me”, Canna ordered and raised her jaw to look at her mother with a sharp glare. Aurelia shook her head, her lips pursued, and looked as she was ready to scold and humiliate Canna.

Zane stood up and brought his sister to sit next to him, as he whispered, “let her speak, you can register your parenting later”, Canna eyes flipped to stare at Fida, that had been sitting silent this whole time, her hands resting on her lap and her shoulders held high. She was gazing at Canna.

Canna raised the parchment and read out loud, “Dear Canna, I apologize for writing this to you, but I can’t think of anyone better that wouldn’t be disappointed in this letter, after all, I never exceeded your expectations.

“And I’m sorry for putting this great obstacle upon you, but as I was on my journey in the forests of Albania, I believe I finally realized this, I don’t want to be a queen, I can’t handle the responsibility and the pressure of it, I never wanted to be one.

“I’m a coward, I can’t even send this letter directly to Mamita, or Papa. But, you understand me, you always knew I wasn’t fit for the job, right? I’m asking you to deliver the news to them, please don’t tell me how much they would be disappointed in me, I already know that.

“Anyways, I always thought you would do a better job at ruling a whole nation, you’re in the Geda house, and your personality is bossy and you always know what to do, I have huge respect for you. Besides that, I met someone I genuinely love. I believe they’re the love of my life, and I think they love me back.

“best wishes, Rosalie”, Canna ended the letter with a sharp tone, then she crumpled the letter and discarded it on the floor behind her, she took long steps toward Fida, completely discarding her respect for her just like she did with the letter.

“You, I always trusted you because you know the best! But now look! The girl you thought would be a brilliant queen ran away with a man she met”, Canna shrieked, Aurelia stood up and attempted to pull Canna arm, but Canna simply pushed her mother away violently.

“You always said she’s better than me! And how does she repay you? By escaping! To leave everything behind, you gave her everything on a silver platter when she doesn’t try anything! While I work hard! Like a dog! Just to let your favoritism control your decisions!”.

Before anyone could mutter a word to Canna, few tears broke from her tough eyes, she didn’t bother to wipe them and acted as if they were never there from the beginning. And it truly seemed that no one was going to speak, the shock was written all over their faces.

From Rosalie's letter to Canna breaking point. The wrathful girl shook her head at them pathetically, then tutted at Fida as if she was a child that did a minor mistake. “No one in this family is logical! The grandmother puts a frail romanticist as an heir, then the son runs away and marries a filthy muggle- don’t you even dare, Zane!”, Canna roared and her index pointed at him.

“And, Aurelia, poor poor Aurelia. Hurt that her father left them for another woman, she goes to destroy the Horcruxes he made and promises she will find him and kill him”, Canna scoffs and glares at the three adults in the room.

Nothing was heard, the room was silent that if a pin would be dropped it would echo. And for once, Canna's words were listened rather than heard. They seemed to be in deep thoughts of their actions. Canna gathered her long robes and strode outside the room.

“Stop”, Fida demanded. Canna slowly faced her, guilt building in her heart, she acted on her feelings which was a terrible mistake. Still, Canna was certain she would lose with pride, so, she raised an eyebrow and asked, “What?”.

Fida stood up and walked few steps towards Canna, “if I ever find out that this was your doing-“, Canna chuckled and shook her head unbelievably, “I might have had certain views about Rosalie being an heir, but that doesn’t mean I would step this low, yes I will mercilessly bully her, but I would never put our nation at risk”.

Canna pointed a finger at Zane, “Besides, he did it once and an apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”. Zane approached them and asked Canna, “was this how you felt about us all along?”, Aurelia that kept her head low this entire time raised it, and anticipated Canna's reply.

“Yes, I never showed it, because unlike you disgraceful lot I know how to hide my feelings when it’s unnecessary-“, a sound of a slap resonated through the room, Canna held her cheek with shock and watched Fida with pain.

“You may know how to hide your feelings, but your actions are driven by hatred and anger, this is exactly why I haven’t put you as an heir”, Fida said firmly, “this isn’t a way to talk to your superiors, no matter how wrong they were, speak your arguments with manners, then maybe I would have thought about putting you as an heir”.

“And you, were you searching for your father behind my back?”, Fida asked Aurelia, the latter nodded and replied honestly, “how could I not?”, Fida eyes blinked for a long minute, then she opened her eyes to look at Aurelia. Her built anger was getting colder and she wasn’t as wrathful.

“I know losing your father at a young age was hurtful, but destroying his Horcruxes was wrong of you”, Fida scolded gently, Aurelia heaved a sigh and took a refugee on the chair, a bit further than where they all stood, “not because I care for him, but because I care for you, destroying Horcruxes is nasty and especially the ones he made”.

When the tension slightly lessened, Fida glanced at Zane and said, “How could I not expect Rosalie would run away with a man she fell in love with, you are living proof”, Zane squirmed uncomfortably at the judgemental looks from Aurelia and Canna.

Fida sighed and looked at Canna, “Although the discourse you created by your anger is unacceptable, you’re right, we should have been more logical”. 

At the same time yet in a different place, Tom sat next to Rosalie, on the shabby flat he managed to find in Knockturn alley. “Don’t you think I should have at least gone to meet them?”, Rosalie asked, clearly unsure about her decision. Although her decision was highly influenced by Tom's words.

“no, they would discard your words away, lock you up somewhere and we would never see each other”, he softly said, his hand touching her face affectionately as if she was the most precious thing in this world. Rosalie worried face remained, guilt building up in her insides.

Sending a letter to Canna wasn’t the smartest thing, but Tom's words made sense. No matter how unlikely it would be, they still made sense. Rosalie gazed into Tom's eyes, his attitude towards her changed to a full 180, during those four months they spent in Albania, towards this current moment.

Rosalie wasn’t sure what changed him, and she couldn’t guess it at all. However, she wasn’t complaining. He had so many issues, Rosalie could tell right through him, he was sometimes stuck up and stubborn. But that only made her heart love him more, she wanted to protect him and shower him with her love all the time.

That could be what triggered him, that she gave more love to him than she’d ever received from him. “what are we going to do now?”, Rosalie asked, as Tom retrieved his hands back to him and began taking things out of a strange looking box.

“As I told you, I will be working in borgin and burkes and you can do whatever you desire”, Tom explained shortly, he stood up and placed the odd diadem inside a cupboard, “I don’t understand, you said you graduated from Hogwarts with amazing qualifications, why are you working there?”.

Rosalie didn’t have to walk too many steps, as she only reached him with five steps inside the small, shabby and grotesque flat. Tom turned to look at her, “I would appreciate it if you don’t ask many questions, but the answer to that is that I want to work there, you’re not materialistic, are you? And you will support me, like a good beau, won’t you?”.

Rosalie face flushed at how he addresses her, “I’m not I was just worried and of course, I will support you, I would do anything for you”, Tom smiled at her, “of course you will”. Tom picked up his robes and said, “how about we walk around? So you get used to the place”.

Rosalie agreed and did the same as him, and side by side they picked up their trip outside their new home. Knockturn alley was a dark place, filled with stairs that keep descending, and with questionable stores filling the cracks, and even more odd people there.

Rosalie clung to Tom's arm as she tried her best to avoid making eye contact with the atypical people around the alley. “This is where I work, you can visit me if you need something”, Tom pointed at a shabby ancient store. “Although I would appreciate it if you don’t leave the house much”, he advised lowly.

And he needn’t repeat his words to her twice, as if she would leave the somehow safe home to this unsettling alley with even more disturbing visitors and residents. Finally, they reached Diagon Alley. It was much brighter, the sun spread across the pavement equally and made the banners on the brighter stores appear more lively.

Tom's face scrunched as Diagon Alley came to his view, when he glanced at Rosalie he found her grinning widely at it, her eyes wandering towards Florean and Fortescue ice-cream parlor. Before she could suggest they enter it, Tom cut her, “we have to save every penny”, she felt like a child.

Rosalie looked at him, smiled apologetically, “yes you are right”, then she surveyed his uncomfortable look, and hurriedly said, “let’s go somewhere you want, I really don’t mind”. At her words, Tom instantly turned around and said, “Then let’s go back home”.

Rosalie truly didn’t know what the point of this trip was, she was too scared to look up, so her eyes were glued to the floor the whole way out of Knockturn Alley. And even when she enjoyed looking around Diagon Alley, Tom look tremendously uncomfortable.

Still, Rosalie was happy. Just the mere thought that Tom might love her back was fuelling her through the whole journey of leaving everything behind. Alas, they were back once again to what they called home.

Rosalie felt so out of place as if she was an atypical ornament in a perfect canvas. And she truly was, her bright robes stood out among the dark flat that was lit by few candles. Unlike Tom who blended in perfectly to everything.

She heaved a sigh and decided she will look through her new home, the kitchen was small and practical as it faced the narrow living room. And only two doors were opening in the living room, the small bedroom and a small restroom.

Rosalie wasn’t complaining, as long as she was with Tom she was content, but there was a strange cold feeling to the place she couldn’t shake off. But her thoughts were erased when Tom stood in front of her, his hand grasping hers.

She was too lost in his eyes that she didn’t notice him slipping something between her fingers, but the cold sensation jerked her up to consciousness, she looked down at her fingers to see a black gem residing in the middle of a dark golden band.

Tom examined her face that switched from shock to pure delight, her face glowed with a pretty smile and she hugged him instantly, “Tom it’s beautiful”, she whispered and parted to continue to stare at the Gaunt ring.

Rosalie was feeling empty yet full at the same time, her insides were fluttering and dropping. She felt guilty but happy, she felt like a child but felt like an adult. She was an adult for starting this crazy journey, but Tom made her feel like a child, an ill-behaved one. And to be frank, she did see his point.

He was kind enough to invite her and nice enough to let her live with him. Rosalie thought. Little did she know it was all an act Tom painted to hide his obsession with her and to bind her to him. You will never leave me, I won’t allow you. Tom thought.

In his perspective, it was alright to lie, manipulate her, and to play several mind games on her. He had to do it, to keep her safe and sound with him. He will mold a pretty lie to keep her tightly restrained with him. Rosalie is different, she’s too pure-hearted, he can’t let the world taint her.

* * *

“Please go out with me!”, Leo screeched as he handed Rosalie some sort of a charmed card. Rosalie's eyes widened as she awkwardly glanced around her, It was Friday after school. Elizabeth and Rosalie were leisurely strolling around the lake. The giant squid could be seen splashing its tentacles.

Leo's voice was so loud as it echoed through the nearby trees, some students who were relaxing around the lake and playing all directed their attention to Leo. But a single glare from Elizabeth made them look away, Persephone leaped from Rosalie’s arms as she violently bit the ends of Leo’s robes.

“Huh?”, Rosalie let out with confusion as she watched him go an aggressive shade of red, It was a strange shade despite it not being so cold as November passed. He cleared his throat and said with a lowered voice, slightly losing confidence with Rosalie’s dumbfounded expression, “Go on a second date with me…please?”, he said the end part with a high-pitched tone.

It made Elizabeth snort, but she quickly hid her laugh under her sleeve with Leo's hateful look. “Leo…I’m afraid that I will hurt you”, Rosalie explained shortly as she slowly pushed the charmed card that was now sparkling annoyingly.

Leo forcefully pushed the card again to her and said quickly, “You’re already hurting me by not giving me a chance!”, Rosalie shifted her stance and slowly took the card, that gently opened and made a small fireworks show.

His eyes were sparkling with more determination, waiting impatiently for her reply. “Can you give me time to think about it?”, Rosalie asked hopefully. Leo's shoulders dropped and his hopeful eyes were saddened with her words, Rosalie quickly said, “I will give you a response tonight! I promise!”.

Leo sighed and gave her one sharp nod, turned on his foot, and walked with his shoulders held up high and his back fully straightened. When he was a few feet away from hearing them, Rosalie turned to Elizabeth and said heavily, “What should I do?”.

Elizabeth shook her head and grasped Rosalie linked arm with her as they once again strolled, Persephone quickly disappeared and followed a small garden snake. “Leo is a git, that’s all I’m saying”.

“I’m afraid if I refuse he will hate me forever, and if I say yes I will give him hope and I may end up not having feelings for him”, Rosalie said as her eyes followed Persephone uneasily. Then she directed her attention to Elizabeth’s hazel eyes that were looking at her with empathy.

“Rosalie you have to understand that not everyone will like you, look, people either hate you because they’re jealous of you or because they want to be with you”.

Rosalie mind flashed with a picture of Tom, she shook her head and said simply, “And there are people who hate you for no reason”, Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders and stopped to pick out an odd branch, she playfully poked Rosalie with it as she tried to cheer her up, “People can be gits, you have to put that into mind”.

“And about people hating you for no reason is completely untrue, but of course I’m not wise”, Elizabeth said and dropped the branch. Rosalie's mind was racing with thoughts but she quickly discarded with Elizabeth's next words, “I say you go on that date with him, then you can judge after that”.

“But what if he asks for a third and a fourth date?”, Rosalie's hands came to push the heavy gate towards the interior of the castle, she stared at Elizabeth and waited for her next words with full anticipation. Elizabeth smiled and answered, “You go on that third and fourth date, I mean you don’t have anything going on with anyone, judge after ten dates”, Rosalie grinned and nodded as they returned to their previous joyful mood.

Little did Elizabeth know that the third and fourth date never happened, especially with the chaos that occurred on the second date. As soon as Rosalie agreed to Leo's suggestion, he planned the whole Hogsmeade trip for them, needless to say, Elizabeth wasn’t happy that she couldn’t spend the last Hogsmeade trip of the term with her best friend.

It all started on madam Puddifoot’s teashop. The two were shyly glancing around the frills as the thin woman came to serve them tea and cakes, she gave them both a singular wink. Leo's hands were shaking so hard that he spilled the hot tea on his pants.

Rosalie couldn’t process why he was so nervous, it was understandable to get shy, especially with couples from their school were filling each booth and snogging. But getting nervous to the point he spilled the tea was getting slightly concerning.

The second surprise was when Leo awkwardly began speaking about how he found his muggle studies exciting, but when Rosalie finished her second teacup and began to nod at his words. Leo was getting more fidgety and used every chance to hold Rosalie’s hand.

Their fingers brushed twenty-seven times in total, and as the minutes passed and the couple beside them began snogging, Leo was getting dangerously closer. Rosalie couldn’t help but slowly push herself back towards the end of the booth, which put her at a great disadvantage; since she was sitting on the inside and Leo was sitting on the outside.

Rosalie had no idea how to decline his advances, she may have gone onto several dates back in Uagadou, but she’d never kissed anyone. But she said with fake laughter as she pushed herself further away from his face, “One time my cousin wanted to do this prank on me, she set a-“.

The door of the teashop was forcefully snapped in half, the other hanging half was kicked and several students that Rosalie recognized to be in Slytherin were flipping tables and breaking Madam Puddifoot’s ancient china set.

The tea shop was brought to chaos as they were hexing anyone that came to their view, the couple next to Rosalie and Leo were glued by their lips as Orion Black was laughing hysterically at them, the previous thin woman the served them came angrily and began yelling at them, but her words were ignored.

Rosalie remained seated as she watched the chaos heighten, “Let’s go!”, Leo hissed to her and stood up, but his tall stature brought unwanted attention to him, Abraxas Malfoy ashy blonde hair came to his view as he chuckled, “a prefect snogging, eh?!”.

“Why? jealous because Elizabeth turned you down?”, Rosalie said, Abraxas raised his wand to her neck, his eyes glowing with anger as he threatened, “If you don’t shut your mouth right now I will make you very sorry”.

“You seem to forget who’s at a disadvantage here, remember when I erased your mouth? fifth-year?”, Rosalie asked and before Abraxas could say anything, the couples inside the teashop were swarming and running out like a flood.

She was forcefully separated from Leo and was brought to outside of the teashop. Rosalie attempted to fight her way towards the inside of the teashop, but her eyes caught a sight of a dark figure standing next to the alleyway of the teashop.

She slowly approached it, coming eye to eye with Riddle. They stared at each other for a long second, then he turned and walked away, Rosalie followed him and snapped, “You made them do that, didn’t you?!”.

Tom's arms were linked behind his back, he was unwavered by her presence, as he walked steadily out of Hogsmeade, “you expect so low of me”, he said coldly and his legs were helping him swiftly across the alleyways towards the back of the forbidden forest.

“Why would it not be?!”, Rosalie impatiently said and chased him, hoping that he would stop to give her a proper word. “You’re blinded by shock, you don’t know what you’re saying”, Tom simply stated. He was walking straight inside the forbidden forest.

The faint sunlight completely disappeared as the entered it, Rosalie was following him and completely unaware of her actions, “No one but you can manipulate others to do what he desires!”, she argued.

“I’m flattered that you think this”, Tom said and stopped in front of a tree. Rosalie opened her mouth with shock at his smooth response, but she shut it, uncertain of what to say to him. Tom's eyes inspected her with interest at her next words, but when she awkwardly fidgeted around and looked away, he asked, “now why are you following me?”.

Rosalie looked around her with realization, they were inside the forbidden forest, and the temperature inside was dropping relatively that her teeth chattered and she grasped her upper arms and cowered and tried to warm down her chilled figure. 

Tom sighed and raised his hands in defeat, “now that you’re in this troubling situation, I guess I have to help you”. Rosalie gave her a hard glare and muttered, “you did this on purpose”.

“now that is a dangerous assumption to make”.

Rosalie shook her head and followed him out of the edge of the forest silently, she forcefully ignored the eerie feeling creeping on her core and blamed it on the cold that made the hair on the back of her neck raise.

They passed by so many different things, such as a small puddle that when Rosalie attempted to step on Tom pulled her away from it and said, “it’s deeper than it looks like, and what are you? A five-year-old that loves stomping on rain puddles?”.

Rosalie breathed on her cold fingers, and snapped, “Why do you keep saying I’m childish? And what’s wrong with enjoying the small things in life?”. Tom took a nearby branch and pushed it inside the puddle, it was swallowed by the deep puddle. Rosalie watched with astonishment at it.

If Tom was late by one millisecond, her whole leg would fall inside. “that’s the cheating puddle, to distinguish it is as something a toddler can do”, he said with his jaw raised with pride, a smirk was on the corner of his lips. Rosalie tutted at him, “well good for you, aren’t you smart?”, she said sarcastically.

“aren’t you hostile? To Hornby you’re all shy and nice, but to me, you’re strident and angry”, The girl crossed her arms and said sharply, and a bit loudly that her voice echoed, “You’re hostile as well! And I only act like this towards people I dislike”.

Her words hung in the air between them and despite the cold atmosphere, it was getting a bit hot with Rosalie lividness and humiliation. Her lips were pouted and her eyebrows were near in a slight frown. Tom inspected her expression but quickly looked away when her eyes met his.

When the front trees were fewer and the gamekeeper hut was seen from a distance, Rosalie heaved a sigh of relief. But she quickly glanced at Tom's stoic face, if she squinted hard enough she could tell he was unhappy about something, but again, he hated everything.

She shook the idea of her head and told him, “I’m going to have tea with Ogg, the gamekeeper, it’s too cold in here”. Tom fully ignored her, Rosalie couldn’t help but feel a harsh punch in her guts. Recently, he never ignored her, it was the other way around.

Tom was quiet, yes, he didn’t initiate talks at all with anyone else unless he wanted something from them. But with her, he almost talked at the same level he would with Professor Slughorn. Of course, Rosalie ignored him most of the time, the face of Myrtle glowing harshly in her mind each time he talked, even if all he said was to share information with her about the championship.

Rosalie repeated slowly, “I’m going to have tea with Ogg”. Tom said without casting her a single look, “and what am I supposed to do with that information?”. Rosalie's cheeks glowed heavily with a red hue and she muttered, “to see if you wanted to come”.

When Hogwarts came to view, and Ogg hut was close, Tom parted ways with her silently and Rosalie stood there watching with confusion. The tie that connected them was very strange and Rosalie was never able to understand if she can label him with any word. He wasn’t a friend, and he most certainly wasn’t her crush anymore.

Tom glanced at the gamekeeper door that shut a bit loudly, he can see Rosalie from the window, she was excitedly speaking with Ogg. Tom looked away and carried himself towards the castle, he walked across the stoned steps.

And when he entered the castle, he could see Madam Pomfrey aiding the students who were jinxed from the teashop chaos. She tutted at all of them and kept muttering about how they should focus on studying instead of snogging.

Dumbledore was standing and watching the gate, as soon as his eyes landed on Tom, he pointed at him to approach him. Tom couldn’t help but get slightly nervous, but he forced himself to act unbothered as if he hadn’t just manipulated several Slytherins to raid Madam Puddifoot’s teashop.

When Tom finally stopped in front of him, he handed him a crisp white envelope with a dark green wax seal. Tom slowly took it and flipped it peculiarly, Dumbledore personally handed Tom letters from the orphanage that came in very rarely and the only were to ask if him if he would be coming for the holidays.

However, his eyes winded at the name: Zane Abella, written with black ink in a small font at the corner of the letter. Tom rose his head and stared at Dumbledore who was looking at him as well, the older man said carefully, “I would advise you to read it alone in your dorm”.

Tom wanted to ask him what this was but Dumbeldore walked away and vanished between the great corridors that split before the gate. Nevertheless, Tom hid the envelope inside his long sleeve and walked hastily towards the Slytherin common room, which seemed to be far with his rising curiosity.

He passed by Leo that was angrily explaining what happened to Headmaster Dippet, Tom sneered with a smirk. A feeling of victory was filling his insides and he briefly forgot about the letter, but he quickly remembered it when he looked at his hand.

At last, he reached the Slytherin portrait, he muttered the password and entered the cold room. The common room was fully empty, and quiet. As most Slytherins were out to watch the chaos that occurred.

Tom sat at the furthest armchair that was facing a large window, the view of the lake came to his eyes. He finally ripped open the envelope and unfolded the neat letters.

_**Dear Tom,** _

_**I’m sure you don’t know me, I’m Zane and I used to be a friend to your mother.** _

_**To be exact, I’m the husband to her best friend, but I consider myself to be a friend to Merope, your mother.** _

_**I have been searching for her for the last sixteen years, and only on Wednesday, I got some threads to where she was last seen, unfortunately, I found she died shortly after giving birth to you. I heard from the orphanage about how you currently go to a boarding school, it wasn’t easy to get this valuable information.** _

_**And to explain it shortly, I’m an African man, they have some views about me but of course, it doesn’t bother me. I hope you aren’t like them, it would make things difficult for both of us.** _

_**I wanted to invite you to come to live with me, I saw the life inside the orphanage and I don’t like it in any way, and I don’t want to let you stay there for any longer. I live in Little Hangleton, which is where your mother used to live before.** _

_**I’m currently living with my Daughter, she currently attends Hogwarts as well and I believe she’s in the same year as you. She’s been desperately searching for Merope with me. But she doesn’t know that I’m sending you this letter, because if you refused I don’t want to make things awkward.** _

_**But I really insist that you come live with me and my daughter, she’s lovely and she would love it if you moved with us. Tom, I want you to know that I will respect your decision, regardless of it, I will support you with all my might.** _

_**I may not look like it to your orphanage but I’m the prince in Uagadou.** _

_**I’m looking forward to your reply,** _

_**Zane Abella.** _

* * *

**Hello! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter and I would love to know your thoughts, do you think there's anything I could improve more about this book or my writing?**


	18. Chapter 16: Endless kindness.

**Chapter 16: Endless Kindness.**

* * *

Tom laid wide-awake that night in his bed, the shocking letter was enough of a reason to make him ponder about everything. Should he go or should he stay? He wondered, but again. Tom would turn seventeen by the end of December.

The orphanage didn’t send him the official letter that states he’s no longer under their care, Tom believes that he’s expected to go back and to back up his stuff and leave. But, where would he go?

He thought shortly about agreeing to Zane invite, but that means he will live with Rosalie. He had many reasons to decline the offer because of her. First of all, she knows that he killed Myrtle. Although Rosalie promised to keep it a secret under the condition of never deceiving her.

He always wondered how she agreed to keep it a secret, it was confusing. Rosalie definitely wasn’t a miss goody-two-shoes, but she still had the gene of justice in her. Second of all, the idea of living with Rosalie, and seeing her all-time struck a string in his heart that he wanted to purposefully ignore.

Making a few Slytherins ruin her date with Hornby made him feel stupid, and he tried to look over his secret intention about it. He tried to make himself believe that he did that because he was training the Slytherins to always obey him, which they have been doing for years now.

The little voice in his head kept pushing him to ask himself why he chose that specific day, Why didn’t he choose another day? _Because I don’t want to see her happy with Hornby_ , that’s why. When he answered that question he gave a sharp sigh and rolled his eyes. He refuses to think he favored Rosalie in any way.

He thinks she is different, yes. But does that mean he likes her? certainly not. He told himself.

The next morning, which happened to be a cold Saturday. Tom left the Slytherin common room by nine on the dot, he heard about the penalty that those Slytherins received for destructing the teashop. They only lost house-points, which was not a big deal because everyone knew about Dumbledore favoritism toward the Gryffindor house.

When he arrived at the great hall, the first thing he saw was Rosalie beaming at Leo, he assumed he was most likely asking her for a third date. And Tom couldn’t help but wish them the worst. But he let that thought drown among many others.

When Tom finally made brief eye contact with Rosalie, the idea of sending a letter to Zane left his mind. He considered the offer well, and it would be nice to return somewhere that respected he was different after a year at Hogwarts.

However, he considered that offer once again on the morning that he received the letter from the orphanage; he will officially turn seventeen soon, which means he had to go back to the orphanage this winter break, pack up all his belongings and leave. Where? He had no idea.

Tom considered going to his father’s home, he only saw him from distance and he awfully reminded him of Leo. Rich, good-looking, and a narcissist. The thought was declined along with many other options he had to aid himself.

So here he was, standing on the Astronomy tower edge. Clutching the orphanage letter, and slightly shivering under the snow, and he wished he took the scarf Rosalie knit for him. But he stuffed it away in his trunk, to forcefully forget about any threads that lead to Rosalie.

Tom heard from Malfoy that Rosalie and Leo had been going out, to which Malfoy got the nastiest glare from Tom, and a sneer as he said with pure disgust, “And do I look like I care?”. Overall, Tom did catch them several times around the castle on their atmosphere, it was mostly Leo who was rambling about something he was interested in, and Rosalie grinning, humming, and shaking her head to show that she was listening to what he was saying.

The moon looked dazzling on the pure sky studded with stars. Tom watched it intently, as he roamed with his thoughts. He looked over his unfinished plan, he would go to the orphanage, pack his belongings, and then… he wasn’t sure.

Tom was immersed in his thoughts he didn’t realize the sound of the snow being crushed on the floor. However, he did see from the corner of his eyes a familiar figure standing next to him, “Hi”, Rosalie whispered awkwardly.

He gave a deep breath and returned to his thoughts, but they were interrupted once again by Rosalie asking with a tone above a whisper, “what are you thinking about?”. Tom's lips were tightly shut, he wasn’t going to tell her about anything no matter how tenacious she was.

“Can I hug you?”.

Tom instantly looked at her with surprise dripping from his features, he was aware Rosalie wasn’t predictable. But he wasn’t expecting she would ask such a thing. Her eyes were sparkling and her nose was slightly red, she was about to bawl her eyes out for some strange reason.

He didn’t answer her, nor question her. But he surveyed her, he was running through possible scenarios that would make her cry. He only witnessed her cry twice, first time was when Elizabeth was injured. The second time was when his ill-behaved uncle cornered her, and murder was swirling in his eyes.

No matter how hard Tom looked into it, there was no reason to make Rosalie cry. Her school life was bright and joyful, she had a possible boyfriend, that probably would get her the moon if she asked. And a best friend that was loyal to her, and always stood by her side.

And without mentioning Rosalie's family, they all loved her. She was loved by everyone. But again, who would hate Rosalie?

She sighed and pleaded hopefully, “please?”. Tom rolled his eyes away, Rosalie didn’t waste any second for any longer. She wrapped her arms around his tall figure and brought him closer to her, she rubbed his back and sniffed, as if she was caging unwanted tears.

“Papa told me everything, I’m so sorry you went through all of this. You were hurt so many times to the point you didn’t want to tell me Merope was your mother”.

Her heat filled him like a pretty blanket warming him after a cold day. Like the blanket in his bed that he would cover himself in after long hours in the Slytherin common room. Or like the first warm soup he tried on his first day at Hogwarts, the first year; that made him certain Hogwarts is home.

Warm, Warm, and pleasantly warm. She smelled like something sweet he couldn’t quite figure out. Her hug was so pleasant that Tom couldn’t find the energy to push her away from him, So warm to the point Tom wanted to instantly write a letter to Zane, telling him he wants to live with them.

But he stopped himself and allowed his greediness to bask in her arms. “Come live with us, please, I want you to”, Rosalie pleaded. So nicely and kindly, that he almost forgot that he killed someone, and was planning to kill many more and that he attempted to kill his father the previous summer holiday.

He can feel her heart beating, she was so nervous and shaking. Rosalie finally parted, and he visibly stopped a groan from leaving his chest and pulled his greedy arms back to himself. Rosalie's lower lip was pouted as the tears were trickling down her pretty face.

She showed her vulnerability to him three times, which made Tom not entirely opposed to the idea of agreeing to her offer. However, he couldn’t trust her just yet, she could be saying this out of a pure heart, Rosalie was kind, and she would go out of her way to be polite. She may be doing the same to him. He told himself.

“I object”, Tom told her. Rosalie bent her head downwards at his words. Clutching the letter that was once in his hands, and he wasn’t sure how she snatched that letter from his fingers. But he blamed it on his overthinking, and the brainstorming he was doing to find a solution to his case.

Rosalie held both of his larger hands, her hands instantly heated his colder hand. And Tom wondered, how can a human be this warm all the time? “Please? Papa and I will be more than happy to have you with us”.

He didn’t know how to respond to her, he wanted to agree to her offer. But the wall of pride didn’t allow him to, and the chilly coat around his heart that almost melted was still there. He wanted to tell her that he wanted to come.

He turned to face the stunning sky once again, he tried to sort out his raging mind. That was flowing with so many thoughts and feelings that he wasn’t able to name or to understand. Without him knowing, and with him organizing his mind by watching the stars and linking them like dots to make shapes, long minutes passed, the minutes snowballed to hours.

He was still standing there, next to Rosalie, who gave him her striped scarf, that had her warm sweet scent. They didn’t have to speak, and nor did neither of them want to talk, to disturb the flow of the peace between them.

The only thing that brought them out from their meaningless daydreaming was the sound of the giant wooden clock at the astronomy tower. That erupted a loud noise, that resembled the sound of a music box.

“Go to your dorm”, Tom whispered, so softly that his words almost swept away with the cold wind. Rosalie gazed at him, as if he was the most beautiful thing in this world, like a flower that was grown in a dessert that she wanted to protect with all her might, and truly, she wasn’t sure how all the negative feelings she once felt for Tom evaporated.

She slightly hated herself for loving him once again, how can you love him? he’s a murderer, he’s the future dark lord, thoughts like this flowed from time to time and they all arrived from her brain. But of course, her sensitive heart, and a very reckless heart pushed the thoughts all away.

“You will lose sleep”, Tom advised again. Finally looking into Rosalie's face, that bloomed of admiration, love, and protection all morphed to lay on her face. “It’s alright, I want to be with you”, she said.

So simple, and to the point that made Tom wonder how she can be so invisible about how she feels. Was she faking it? But her eyes looked so sincere. He was curious about what she thought of him, and how she was able to forget all of their rocky moments.

But he stopped thinking when he saw her smile, she turned to watch the stars. And Tom wanted to tell her that she looked so pretty under the moonlight. He resolved to watch her instead of the sky. And so, they remained together.

Tom wasn’t aware of the prominent debate in Rosalie’s mind, he was so bad, yet she still wanted to hug him and protect him from everything. Her mind was pulsing her with so many things to hate about him, yet she still stood next to him. enormously content as the butterflies came floating gently in her tummy.

Rosalie selfishly decided to forget her logic and watch the stars with Tom Riddle, the future dark lord, the boy who slaughtered an innocent girl. She felt stupid, and like a child that wanted something harmful for, and she truly did, who in their right mind would sympathise with a mass murderer? Still, the smile on her face didn’t waver for a second, nor did the butterflies leave. And the thoughts of wanting to embrace him were still there.

 _It’s alright. This is Tom, the son of Merope, Mama’s best friend and he lived a difficult life. I’m sure Mama wanted us to be friends_. Rosalie assured herself.

As dawn broke the dusk, and the cold was becoming unbearable for the two. Tom parted from the edge of the astronomy tower, with Rosalie walking side by side with him. Tom had so many things he wanted to tell her, but he didn’t know where to begin. He decided he would take her kind offer to live with them.

He glanced at her, she was walking with her head raised and she watched the dim-lit corridors as they took what seemed to be a shortcut. Rosalie asked softly, “So this means you will have to get back to the orphanage?”. Tom gave her a curt nod, Rosalie hummed and looked once again at the deserted castle.

“Do you want me to come with you?”, Rosalie asked hopefully, and she beamed sincerely at him.

“No”, Tom instantly refused. Rosalie's shoulder rose with determination and she asked, “Why not?”. Tom shook his head and explained, “The muggles are stupid, they are racist and have certain views about people of color, it’s all engraved in their foolish minds since they were born”, Rosalie chirped joyfully, “but you’re not like them! So I’m sure not all of them are as bad as you paint them to be”.

Tom looked scandalized with her words, he growled, “and do I look like a muggle to you?”, Rosalie waved her hand and chuckled softly, “I was just giving an example I truly believe racists are made and not born, in all kinds of discrimination, to be frank, my grandmother and my aunt and Canna all have certain views about muggles but I believe it was just planted into them by bad experiences or since they were born”.

Rosalie linked her hands behind her back, leaning slightly closer to Tom without her logic planted into her mind, and her feelings leading all her actions, “I see”, Tom muttered and tried his best not to notice her proximity. When they reached the Hufflepuff dorms, he stood motionless and remained to look at her.

“Sweet dreams”, Rosalie whispered and waved her hand gently at him. Tom looked away as she knocked on the barrels, and soon she disappeared inside her dorm. When she vanished Tom let a heavy breath out, he was so tense around her and he didn’t know what to do. He was acting so foolish by not pushing her away, but it felt wonderful, for such a pure soul like her to devote all her attention to him and him only.

* * *

The next morning, when it was the 23rd of December, it was the day when the Hogwarts Express would take all the students willing to spend the winter holiday with their families. Tom never stepped inside the train at this time of the year, as he only left Hogwarts for the summer Holiday, which was obligatory for him to abandon it.

The Hogwarts Express shined bright under the misty winter clouds, Elizabeth and Rosalie pushed their way inside it, hoping to find an empty compartment, but since they were late to the train, all of the compartments were occupied.

“Abella! Potter! Come here”,

The two girls glanced at Eileen Prince, she was sitting in an empty compartment, that only occupied her and her luggage. And because Eileen intimidated lots of students, she was left isolated. Elizabeth gave a sharp sigh of relief and pushed her body inside the cabin, Rosalie went behind her and slammed the door shut.

“Thank you so much, it was Rosalie’s fault that we were so late!”, Elizabeth dropped her body on the seat in front of Eileen, Rosalie followed her and pinched her arm, carefully adjusting Persephone to sit on the seat, “Hey! You forgot your broom and insisted we run and get it because it’s an ‘adventure’ didn’t you?”. Elizabeth looked at Eileen and shrugged, “Whatever, it’s not like Eileen believes you or anything”.

“I do, I can hardly see Abella being late to anything”, Eileen said and shared a friendly giggle with Rosalie at Elizabeth’s shock. Soon, they quieted down and resolved to stare at the now quiet halls, and finally, the train wheels rolled across the railway.

The three girls sat in silence, Eileen reading a heavy dark book that sat open in her lap. Elizabeth was lazily munching on chocolate beans, with her head resting on Rosalie’s shoulder. While the brunette sat still and memorized the different uses of each ingredient for her Potions championship with her hand rubbing Persephone white fur.

Elizabeth shook Rosalie and asked, “Hey, do you want to spend Christmas together?”. Rosalie tensed, she never mentioned to Elizabeth that Tom would be living with them, or that he was the son of Merope Gaunt. Rosalie wanted to agree to Elizabeth's offer, it would be nice to spend Christmas with all her favorite people with her.

But it would make Tom uncomfortable, and the girl barely got him to agree to come with them, “I can’t”, Rosalie shortly answered. Elizabeth frowned and bent her head to look at Rosalie with confusion. “Why?”, but before Rosalie could make up a lie. Elizabeth features relaxed and she said with realization, “oh! You’re going to spend Christmas with your grandmother?”.

Rosalie let her sigh land on her throat, and she nodded her head at Elizabeth. Persephone rose her head to look at Rosalie, and the brunette presumed her half-kneazel was judging her to no ends for lying to her best friend.

Eileen asked, “am I the only one that thinks it’s strange the Riddle is coming back home this holiday?”, her head tilting with pure curiosity. Rosalie shifted in her seat and tried to act nonchalant about it, Elizabeth agreed and her palm threw more chocolate beans to her mouth. “Yeah, he usually stays at Hogwarts, I wonder what’s the reason”, she said with a mouthful.

“ugh, Potter that’s gross, don’t speak with food in your mouth”, Eileen said and looked at Rosalie to hear what the brunette would say about Riddle who was now the topic of their conversation, “I’m not sure, maybe something happened back home”.

Eileen agreed to Rosalie theory, Rosalie grinned at the two girls as an idea lit in her head, “Do you guys want to exchange letters and gifts this Christmas?!”, Elizabeth glanced at Eileen and approved simply then threw more chocolate beans into her mouth. Eileen raised a confused eyebrow, and asked, “Why?”.

Rosalie answered with an obvious tone, “because we’re friends!”, Eileen's ears turned red, she raised the book in her lap to hide her face and answered, “I don’t mind”. They spent the rest of the journey talking about everything, and for the first time in her life, Eileen felt included.

* * *

Mrs. Cole stood poised at the entrance of the Orphanage, her sharp eyes and judgemental eyes surveyed Tom that held his suitcase in his left hands, and his wooden trunk was in his right hand. He walked closer to her, she opened the orphanage door and mumbled a cold-hearted greeting.

Tom wasn’t complaining, he was going to walk inside and spend one night in the orphanage, he will take the morning train to the Address Rosalie scribbled on a small piece of parchment. Tom truly hoped he wouldn’t talk with anyone this day, he would leave them just like picking hair out of solid dough.

Mrs. Cole features turned stoic as she howled, “Who are you?!”, she screamed.

“Uh, I’m in the same school as Tom”, a soft voice answered back, and it was painfully familiar. Few people dared to use his given name, he turned around slowly and raised an eyebrow at Rosalie. Awkwardly standing with her fingers clutching her coat.

Mrs. Cole glared at her and shook her head in disbelief, “and how can someone like you afford to go to a boarding school? Stop lying and LEAVE!”, Rosalie flinched at her loud voice, her mouth opened and she seemed to want to reply as her eyes glanced worriedly at Tom as if asking him to help.

“She is a classmate of mine, let her in”, Tom said, his glare turning Mrs. Cole into ice with the hatred that it contained. The older woman reluctantly let Rosalie walk inside the dim-lit building. “If you steal anything I will take you to the Police and you will never see daylights again!”, Mrs. Cole shrieked into Rosalie's ear.

The girl felt humiliated, and she wanted to defend herself but she didn’t want any problems to arise from this. Tom's hand grasped Rosalie’s, the latter eyes widened and she glanced at him to find the boy glaring at Mrs. Cole as if she was a mere insect that can be stepped in, Murder was written all over his face.

Rosalie squeezed his colder hand, and whispered, “Let’s start packing”, Tom closed his eyes and seemed to visibly want to calm himself down, then his feet tapped along the polished floor, his hand still clasped with Rosalie’s.

The Orphanage was polished with dark colors and no sign of children residing in this place was visible. As the walls were completely free of writings and no drawings were hanged in anywhere. It felt so cold, there were few rosaries chained in one place above the fireplace. Other than that the place was limited with only necessary furniture.

Few children had books resting on their laps, but the books were completely forgotten once they looked at Rosalie, finding her appearance to be more interesting than their dull books. They all looked bland, and Rosalie could only imagine how much they wanted to stand out, but from the Orphanage decoration, or lack of, the rules were harsh.

Tom stopped at a dark door, that was at the end of the corridor. As if he was a monster to be sealed from the other children, he turned the knob and walked inside the narrow room. Tom's tall stature made everything look miniature.

Rosalie's eyes looked around the narrow room, that looked bland as well. A long bed was at the corner, which took a big portion of the room. A small desk was beside the bed, then a tall and thin closet was beside the door.

Rosalie stepped inside and closed the door; as it took a big space from the room with it opened. Tom began pulling some books from under his bed and placed them inside the suitcase. Rosalie peered from the window.

“What were you thinking? Coming here?”.

She turned to look at Tom, who was now folding clothes inside the trunk, “I didn’t want you to spend a day longer here”, Tom seemed amused with her reply, “You know how muggles are like”. The bedroom door creaked open, Rosalie turned to look at it and answered absent-mindedly, “It’s alright”.

A young girl, possibly at the age of seven, with dark hair and matching dark eyes face peaked from the open crack of the door. Rosalie grinned at her and waved, “Hi!”. The girl's eyes widened when she realized Rosalie spotted her. Tom turned to look at the door and glared at the girl, “Emma? Leave”.

Rosalie slapped his shoulder and mumbled, “be nice”. Rosalie fully opened the door to be met with not only Emma but a boy and another girl. “Are you here to say goodbye to Tom?”, Rosalie asked them and pointed with her thumb at Tom, the little boy shook his head.

“You can talk to me, it’s alright”, Rosalie prompted them to speak, the three children looked at each other with concern, but the boy asked with gained bravery, “what is your name?”. Rosalie pointed at herself with surprise, “Me? My name is Rosalie”.

“How come you’re nice? Mrs. Cole says your people are violent and mean”, Emma asked, gaining confidence when she finally realized Rosalie is harmless.

“My people? OH! You mean people of my color! Well, Emma, you have to know that people are not born violent or evil, and being black is something I’m born with so I can’t change that, and being kind is always better!” Once Rosalie finished her words, she looked at them with a warm smile.

The three children looked at her with wonder, no expression was on their faces, until the other girl said nonchalantly, “you talk a lot”, the other two children giggled freely, Tom stifled his chuckle and Rosalie acted as if she was angry, but soon joined their laughter.

“How dare you laugh, Mr. Riddle?”, Rosalie joked, Tom rolled his eyes and said casually, “she wasn’t lying, you do talk a lot”.

“Making fun of me must be entertaining to you, now, is it?”

“Sort of”

The three children looked between them as the two teenagers picked a playful squabble, Emma looked at her friends and said, “Riddle doesn’t seem so intimidating with her around, right?”, Tom and Rosalie looked at her, startled at the child statement, what surprised them more was when the other two hummed in agreement.

Tom resumed packing, a slight blush on his face. Rosalie changed the subject as she asked them, “what are your names?”.

Emma said curtly, “I’m Emma, you already know that”.

The boy, who had dirty blond hair, and icy blue eyes icy blue replied, “I’m Noah, good to meet you”, and gave Rosalie a friendly grin. The other girl, that had almost the same features as Noah, Rosalie assumed they must be twins, “My name is Sarah, nice to meet you”.

Tom seemed to have finally finished his packing, he shut his trunk closed with a loud noise, and he stood up from the bed as he told Rosalie, “It’s time to leave”. Emma, Sarah, and Noah looked startled and they exchanged several meaningful looks with each other.

Emma said suddenly, “can I touch your hair?”, Noah and Sarah nodded along with her, they wanted to touch Rosalie’s hair as well. The girl presumed they haven’t seen curly hair before, so she brought her hair to either side of her shoulders and agreed with a smile, “Sure!”.

Their hands darted to touch and pull on the curls with astonishment peppering their faces, “How do you make it to look like that?”, Sarah asked timidly, still slightly intimidated by Tom's presence. Rosalie shrugged her shoulders and answered, “I was born with it”.

They hummed as they took in the new information, a few minutes passed, Tom cleared his throat. They instantly pulled their hands away from Rosalie’s hair, and she pushed her hair behind as she said, “I guess it’s time to leave, Goodbye!”.

Noah tilted his head and said “I wonder how you and Riddle became friends, Mrs. Cole says a boy and a girl can never be friends”, Emma knocked his head as his twin chuckled at them, “What do you think it is? It’s obvious that Riddle will marry her”. Rosalie gasped silently and waved her hands at them, “Children! That’s not true a girl and a boy can be friends, I mean look at Noah and Emma! besides I don’t want to get married”.

Tom face turned to the side as blood rushed to his face to coat his cheeks with a faint blush, Emma looked at Rosalie as if she grew a second head, “Really? Mrs. Cole says a girl must get married at the age of seventeen”, Emma then added with a shrug, “And Noah and I are like siblings”

“Uh, only if the girl wants to, for me I want to remain single and travel the world!”, Rosalie said as her hands moved theatrically, which wasn’t a bright choice in the narrow room, her hand hit the door. The three children chuckled at her, Sarah told Rosalie, “I don’t want to get married too,”.

“Really? I hope I meet you again fellow soldier! Or maybe we can meet in our journeys!”, Rosalie said and shook hands with a giggling Sarah, then she waved at them, following Tom that picked his limited luggage and left the room. “Goodbye, lovely friends! I hope I meet you soon”.

The children quickly scattered back to their rooms once they spotted Mrs. Cole standing at the end of the hallway. The woman told Rosalie, “I hope you didn’t steal anything”. Rosalie quickly grasped Tom's hand and walked side by side with him in the thin hallway.

“This means I have to search you”, Mrs. Cole said, stepped over, and blocked the way from Tom and Rosalie. The brunette heart raced insanely, she didn’t want to be touched or searched without her consent, under a suspicion a racist woman had over her.

Tom spoke between gritted teeth, “there’s nothing to steal in this bland place, let us through or you will regret that you were ever born”, his tone was so cold that it could cut through flesh, and his glare was even colder. Mrs. Cole visibly trembled, and she stepped away from their way.

Finally, within short a short singular minute, they stepped out of the orphanage. The sun was fully set and Tom was now a free man. He now officially had no ties to muggles. “And now, where do we go?”, Rosalie asked herself, her question didn’t require an answer, she already had a plan to visit the leaky cauldron and rent a room to rest in for tonight, and the next morning they would pick the first train to take them to Little Hangleton.

Luckily, since the Orphanage was in London, they had to walk across several streets to reach the leaky cauldron. They didn’t fill the silence between them, it wasn’t necessary anyway. Rosalie had to admit that half of her joy was that Tom never pulled his hand away from her grasp, and never did he reject her touch.

Her heart was leaping with thrill and excitement to this new journey and life, from now on she wouldn’t spend her days alone at the cottage, there would be another soul occupying the cottage with her. And the lonely mornings would be filled. Tom glanced around them, not finding any trace of a specific white cat, “Where’s Persephone?”.

“I left her at the leaky cauldron with my luggage, she hates the cold” Rosalie elaborated, and Tom finally took notice .3of the light skip in her steps. And their hands swinging slightly, and Tom deeply felt as if he was needed, just for him. Not for his smarts, or his looks. He was wanted just for who he was, and it melted the frost around his heart, that raced at Rosalie’s warm hand clutching his.

Their hands were the complete opposite, yet Tom felt so completed as if he never lacked anything his entire life. He felt so pure and innocent as if he never planned to make Horcruxes or was ever interested in the dark arts of magic.

Soon, they reached the leaky cauldron, Rosalie wiggled her hand out of Tom grasp, and pushed the heavy door with both of her hands. Tom forcefully ignored the tingling sensation that was left in his palm. “Hi Tom!”, Rosalie greeted happily and walked inside the Pub.

“Oh, Rosalie! I was wondering where you left! Couldn’t see you in Diagon Alley and I got a little worried”, Tom, who was a man with a hunched back spoke to Rosalie, he was wiping some tables clean, the leaky cauldron was occupied with several people. They were mostly friendly witches that were chatting together, clearly under the effects of liquor.

Rosalie fiddled with a key in her pocket, she stepped above the handsome staircase and told Tom, the pub owner, “I was just fetching, the other Tom, oh right! Could you prepare dinner for us? I think Shepherds pie would be nice, do you want that Tom?”, Rosalie directed her last words to Tom, who was walking beside her, he shrugged his shoulders.

Tom, the owner nodded with a smile and walked into the kitchen, Rosalie said loudly just before the doors shut, “Thank you!”, now they walked towards the upper floors. “I completely forgot to ask my father to send me galleons so I could pay enough for two rooms, so I only rented one, I hope that’s okay with you”, Rosalie said casually, they finally reached the third floor and Rosalie took out her keys, she gave Tom a copy of the key.

As soon as they key touched the knob, it magically opened and revealed a singular twin-sized bed, a wooden nightstand was planted right beside it, a red shabby rug was making the room seem cozier, and finally, one tall closet was just next to the bed, it was like Tom orphanage room in some way but as if it was altered to be wider and better and warmer.

A fluffy white mass laid above the bed, though with the door being unlocked, it shook and leaped out of the bed, it was Persephone leaping inside Tom's arms. Rosalie giggled and took the heavy trunks from his hands and said, “you can get changed, I will go down and talk with that friendly witch, she has some amusing stories, you should come down as well!”.

She placed the trunks just beside her own by the door, glowed at him one last time before she took Persephone from his arms and shut the door. Tom heaved a sigh and sat at the bed, he wasn’t certain about what he was doing, but the feelings behind everything made him feel great. To be frank, he had every reason to be feeling like this, Rosalie was a wonderful soul. She understood him.

If she believes that racists are made and not born, then she must certainly believe that monsters are made and not born. Tom knew he was harmful in every way and that he was a monster, but Rosalie knows he wasn’t a monster, right? After all, she knows he killed Myrtle, but here she is, giving him all the care in the world.

And in his dreams, that strangely stopped a long time ago, she gave him all the love she had, and her wonderful sparkling eyes that only looked at him in that way, that he never was given. She made him feel whole, and he wanted to own her in every aspect. She showed him all her seasons and he liked them all, in the spring when her flowers bloomed and in autumn when only her roots remained.

And under the scorching sun when he felt her heat, even with the cold winter when she was so cold, she was still Rosalie. The one that he always knew, which made Tom extremely confused, he knew Rosalie for barely a year, yet she resides in his dreams in the most intimate ways. And it seemed as if he knew her for a whole lifetime.

When the pit of Tom's stomach gave a slight growl, which made him remember he didn’t even bother to have breakfast at Hogwarts earlier, So he stood up from the bed and took off his coat and scarf once he realized it was a lot warmer inside the room.

Once Tom reached the main hall, he found all the tables empty yet only one large circular table that had the witches from earlier, and Rosalie was seated next to a plump witch that held her hand and told her a story, it was obvious the older witches took a liking of Rosalie, as she was a sweet-talker and gave them the desired validation.

Once the wooden in the last stair creaked, and the women who were facing the stairs raised their heads to look up to the newcomer, Rosalie turned to look at Tom, she beamed and patted on the chair next to her, “Come here Tom! Eat before it gets cold”, Rosalie said warmly and pulled his chair closer to her. With reluctance, Tom picked up his steps and sat on the chair just beside her.

But as Tom joined them, their loud chatter was cut, and the women began observing him as if he was the finest artifact to be made. Tom raised a confused eyebrow at the lady sitting directly across him, but just like the rest, she was too immersed in observing him and making assumptions as to why he and Rosalie were traveling together.

“Oh right, you never told me what you told Ruth when she accused you of hexing her husband?”, Rosalie said loudly to the lady sitting next to her, the woman blinked with surprise then let a thrilled noise, “Yes, yes, so I told Ruth that she is the mingling mingler and that her husband is a pig that harasses women”. The women around the table laughed heartily at the words of the angry plump witch, her face switched red then turned pink as she joined their laughter.

Dinner went by like a breeze, Rosalie tried her best to avoid directing the topic of speech to herself and Tom, and just mainly listened to the older women funny stories and experiences. At exactly eight in the evening, and as Tom finished his dinner. With his stomach full of warm food and war, beverages, Rosalie suggested if they should retreat for the night.

From his heavy eyelids, Rosalie didn’t need a verbal agreement. She bid the ladies a good night and walked up the stairs with Tom, who resolved to nod his head at them curtly. Persephone tailing them closely, once they reached the room and it unlocked, it finally dawned on Tom.

There was only one tiny bed, and Rosalie was already seated in it as she pulled her trunks out to take out more comfortable clothes. “I’m not sleeping on the floor”, he told the girl. Rosalie shut the trunk and pushed it under the bed as she looked at him as if he was the strangest object ever, “What? No, do you really think I would make you sleep on the floor?”.

Then she walked a couple of steps to reach the small restroom, and locked the door behind her, “I will get out when you finish changing”, Rosalie assured through the door. In ten minutes, Tom knocked on the restroom door which Rosalie took as a sign that he had changed. Tom then entered the bathroom and began brushing his teeth.

Rosalie then played with Persephone, the cat was feeling very energetic with her favorite two people together. Which also made her meow loudly and purr in content more. Tom finally exited the restroom, and Rosalie instantly asked, “Do you wanna sleep on the inside or the outside?”.

Tom's mouth opened as he frowned at her, trying to absorb her question, but her index pointed at the bed and it all clicked in Tom’s mind, he didn’t miss a beat as he said, “we’re not sharing a bed”.

Rosalie embraced Persephone tighter to her chest and said simply, “oh yes we are”.

“No we are not, listen, I don’t have the energy to argue with your thick head but I’m sleeping on the bed and you’re sleeping on the floor”.

Cut to three full minutes, and with Persephone squished on Rosalie’s chest, that had her shoulder pressed tightly to Tom's left shoulder, both staring at the ceiling. Their warmth radiating from their shoulders to each other, and their hands so close Rosalie just wanted to intertwine her fingers with him. But with an empty feeling that was kicking her with anxiety, Rosalie wasn’t sure. Still, she turned to fully face him as she rested her hands under her jaw.

Her eyes looking at Tom, that was still staring at the ceiling. “What are you doing?”, Tom asked the girl, “I’m looking at you”, she whispered, a smile forming on her face as Persephone was snoring lightly between them, it was a perfect warm scenario that Tom would never imagine he would be put in.

“I know I’m good-looking but stop it”.

Rosalie chuckled, silence enveloping them as the night aged and the clock ticked, it was so simple yet Rosalie never wanted time to stop more than at this moment. Guilt was long forgotten, and with the moonlight shining over Tom's side, eliminating his face. He looked like an ethereal painting an artist worked hard to create. And oh how much she wanted to kiss him, bring him closer to her heart and just let him enfold within her, she wanted to simply pluck him from this world and place him in her heart, so he always stays there just for her to admire.

Tom then turned his head to gaze at her, the way the moonlight reflected on her skin and made her shine, it felt like a dream, a very beautiful dream, but her captivating dark eyes made him know it was all real, a very beautiful reality.

And maybe just for a while, he wanted to forget about everything. If Rosalie thought Tom was evil impersonated in a human, then to him she was temptation incarnated. He felt so safe, and so cared for to the point where it felt that if he closed his eyes the whole world would stop and be at his simple command once he blinks his eyes open. And Rosalie would be there, laying next to him and smiling only for him.

“Tom, do you sometimes feel like you’re too exhausted that you want to shut your eyes and sleep for eternity?”.

Tom scoffed away a smile and whispered, “of course, you just had to say something stupid”, without him noticing he blinked slower and less as if wanting to take in as much of her before she fades, Rosalie was erratic, and he hated to admit that but he was afraid she would turn against him.

Then Rosalie shut her eyes and whispered, “Sweet dreams, Tom”.

Déjà vu, it was as if Tom already lived this occurrence, with Rosalie lying by his side in a tiny bed with their bodies pressed closely. Her eyes were shut as her breathing evened and slowed. It felt so familiar, yet Tom was definite this never happened before.

* * *

The Prince's family was proud to reflect their morals to their only daughter, Eileen. The way they spoke so poor about muggle-borns made her act as if she dislikes them, but deep down Eileen didn’t understand why that hatred was an important family trait.

She didn’t mind acting as if she disliked them, she’s been acting as if she disliked anything since she was born. She learned that the hard way, once when she was four she showed her adoration to a porcelain doll, her mother beat her senseless, scolding her that a pure-blooded witch shall never like something associated with the inferior species; muggles.

Eileen truly didn’t mind that, the only thing that was agitating her that she was forced to be engaged to Orion Black, who was a descend from a pureblooded family. Eileen never dared to speak to her mother or show any signs that she truly disliked Orion.

Orion was someone picky, he picked and flipped on her appearance all the time, and he would compare her to any other girls he knows. Eileen could swallow all of that hurt inside, she did that all the time. But it was nothing compared to the pain of realizing how the rest of her life would be.

Forced into a miserable marriage with Orion Black, who showed how he disliked her as well. And have children that will live in that miserable household. Eileen didn’t have hopes for the future. Although she truly tried to make Orion like her, even slightly, she even asked Rosalie to help her look presentable for him at the Party. She looked gorgeous, and Eileen felt beautiful.

Especially when she got compliments from Rosalie and Elizabeth, whom Orion always compared her to them. Still, he wasn’t satisfied, and his eyes kept following Walburga Black, that she knew was his cousin, and was still in fourth year. It disgusted her personally, but she couldn’t voice out her concerns.

Still, the only small happiness Eileen got from this winter holiday, was the letters Rosalie and Elizabeth promised to write. Eileen anticipated their letters more than she would like to admit, but she allowed herself this joy. She was restless, waiting patiently by her desk, and tried to bury some potion ingredients into her skull.

But her eyes kept glancing at the open window, waiting for an owl, or two to appear this Christmas morning. Her bedroom door was knocked and pushed hastily, her mother pale face appeared beside her, as she looked carefully at the window, “Are you waiting for an owl?”.

Eileen quickly shook her head in refusal, how would she tell her mother she befriended a Hufflepuff and a Gryffindor? She would instantly by disowned, in a blink of an eyelash. Her mother hummed as she flipped her daughter’s answer.

“The Blacks will arrive in a bit”.

Her mother said, then turned abruptly as she ordered, “get dressed and… do something about your eyebrows- I really can’t believe I gave birth to you”, finally, her mother left and shut the door behind her. The hooting of an owl alerted Eileen. The girl quickly chased the two owls.

Taking out a letter from each of their legs. Elizabeth's gift was messily wrapped with parchment, yet it still made Eileen's heart swell with happiness. The gift from Rosalie was a small box, wrapped neatly in a festive wrapper. Eileen placed the letters under her pillow and made a mental plan about reading them after the Blacks leave.

With that, Eileen tied the two girls' gifts, and letters. She wasn’t sure if she should call the two sentenced note a letter, but still, she was happy to send them a note she wrote with sincerity. With that, Eileen wore a corseted black dress, that had stripes in grey, and when she looked deep into it she got slightly hypnotized and truly didn’t blame how Orion always commented about her clothes.

Still high with spirits and in the high of happiness, Eileen stepped down the stairs, walked few steps into the dining room. To find everyone mostly speaking with a low murmur. There was only one seat left and it was across Orion Black, that barely noticed her as he was engrossed in a flirty conversation with Walburga, and Eileen didn’t have to look under the table to know they were playing footsies.

“Aha, Eileen, and I was wondering when you would show up, very unpunctual you are”, Melania Black said hatefully, her nose crinkled as her eyes followed Eileen that took a seat at the dining table. “I’m Sorry”, Eileen muttered an apology, watched Orion and Walburga glare at her, clearly not wanting her to be there.

The rest of the dinner went smoothly, and surprisingly, no one brought up one thought about the forced marriage. Even with Sally; Eileen's mother, trying to bring up the matter more than once, but it was dropped as quickly as it started and Sally's words were ignored.

When lunch finished, Eileen busied herself by listening to Alphard Black tell her about how he came across the strangest muggles to exist. When the night fell, and the guests were still flooding in, Sally urged her daughter to search for Orion Black, “Find him now and talk with him, I want you the marriage deal to be sealed tonight, do you understand?”.

So here was Eileen, with the library door slightly opened as she listened to Orion say the worst things about her to Walburga that took it as a mission to laugh and comment at each curse word he said about Eileen.

“She walks like she was a floating ghost, and her breath always stinks for some reason, her eyebrows are so bushy, you best believe bugs live there”, Orion said, Walburga giggled and clapped her hands gently as she said, “more more!”.

Eileen didn’t feel herself pushing the library door open, Walburga was sitting in Orion lap, this was too suggestive, Eileen was certain of that. And it reeked of a stench that Eileen was sure it was wrong, Orion was terrible, she was aware of that. But acting this way to a girl that was younger than him, and practically cheating on her, that was besides gossiping about her.

The two glared at her, “what are you doing here?”, Orion shouted. Eileen joined her palms together as she said simply, “this is my house”. Orion and Walburga sat stiffly as they anticipated Eileen next move, but the girl was motionless and stoic, and the girl didn’t know what to say, she reserved to look at them and hoping her disgust would reach them.

But when they raised an eyebrow at her sullen face, she asked, “are you cheating on me, with your cousin?”.

“I’m not cheating, I told mother that I don’t want to get married to you and that I find Walburga fit to be a wife more than you, she was going to tell your annoying mother that we would break the engagement”.

Eileen simply turned her head to Walburga, then waited for moments before she said, “you have some standards, seeing a child that still didn’t begin her menstruation cycle fit to be a wife?”.

“I want to apologize for breaking your heart, but you don’t deserve even a thought from me”.

“Don’t flatter yourself, I’m much happier to be free from you”.

“Screw you Eileen!”, Orion growled, Eileen shrugged her shoulders and smirked, “you wish”. Then she turned around to walk to her room, her eyes burning and her smirk dropping once she entered her bedroom.

The girl threw her body on her bed, screamed into the feathery pillow, her hands fisting the sheets underneath as she cried, not from pain or agony, but because she was livid, she was heated that she even took Orion commentary about her appearance into her mind.

Eileen angrily pulled out the letter underneath her pillow, opening it quickly as she found Rosalie’s neat writing on the outside. Rosalie is kind, she most likely wrote something nice to her, something that would make Eileen remember her worth. And she was right, as she finished reading the letter, her tears stopped falling.

A gentle knock came from the door, Eileen raised her head to meet Alphard Black, Orion older brother walked inside her room, he sat on the bed and said, “I heard everything”.

Eileen glared at him harshly and said, “And?”.

Alphard beamed at her and said, “come with me to this underground muggle party, we will have so much fun”, Eileen's mouth hung open, she tilted her head as she studied his offer, then she quickly refused, “No way, muggles? Are you insane?”.

Alphard let a heavy sigh escape his lips, then he said, “do you really want to tell me you hate muggles? Eileen, I know you’re not like your family or my family”. Eileen looked away and shook her head slowly, Alphard encouraged her with a wink, “come on, muggle parties are so fun, say yes and I will come to take you after this boring party”.

* * *

The floating mug carefully approached Zane accepting hand, it landed safely in his left hand, his right one was busily brushing his hair with a wooden comb. He was completely lost in his thoughts, Tom and Rosalie arrived two days before. They had a warm Christmas feast and Zane was certain he never saw Rosalie smile that wide before.

Tom was extremely charming, he always said the right things and did the right things. He was too mature for a boy his age. Zane was immersed in his thoughts he didn’t realize Tom exit his new bedroom. It was only when the door gave a slight noise that Zane jumped out of his thoughts, he turned to face Tom, giving him a smile.

The Latter stood poised and had his hands behind his back, then he asked politely, “leaving for work?”. Zane gave a nod and sipped from the hot tea, when he lowered the mug he asked Tom, “Did you find your new room comfortable? Do you want to change anything in it?”.

“Yes, it’s perfect”.

Silence filled the air, and the quieted down. Zane suddenly blurted, “Rosalie told me that you may need to go to Diagon alley today, but please feel free to use the floo powder to go anywhere you desire”.

Tom didn’t utter a word, though he did open his mouth and close it several times; wanting to say something but not knowing how to begin. Zane stood there, waiting for him to speak with expecting and reassuring looks. Finally, Tom said it.

“could you tell me more about my mother?”.

Zane tilted his head then looked at the outside of the window for short moments, then offered, “would you want to visit your uncle as well? He lives close by”. Tom agreed, following Zane steps towards the door, Zane pushed it and allowed Tom to exit first, then his eyes glanced towards Rosalie’s bedroom door, that was currently shut.

“let’s hope she doesn’t wake up when you’re away”, Zane said. Tom lifted a curious eyebrow then asked slowly, “why?”. The older man said with empathy towards his daughter, “she hates waking up to an empty place, in the past the palace was always filled with people, recently before you moved she spent her mornings alone, of course, it bothered her but she endured it”.

Zane glanced back at Tom then said jokingly, “Although, now that you’re here she will surely argue with me, and you”. Tom hid his grin and looked at the trees surrounding the small cottage. The cottage appeared small from the outside and it strangely fit an extra bedroom that now belonged to him, Tom didn’t think too long about it. Zane obviously altered the little cottage to fit them now.

Tom didn’t feel as if he was forced there, but rather that he blended in perfectly with them and that he is welcomed and wanted to be there. He did blush slightly last night when he heard Rosalie speak about her needing to go to Diagon alley, to get things for the ‘family’.

Zane seemed casual about it, he did also agree with Rosalie's words and repeated “yes, we do need things for our family”.

Tom bounced out of his thoughts as Zane began speaking about Merope, “your mother, your uncle, and grandfather suspected her to be a squib, which is entirely false. She was a late bloomer, and that’s why she was abused by them”.

“She hated her life and attempted to end it several times, but luckily she had a best friend, Victoria. Now as you may now muggle have some sort of discrimination towards people of color, and Victoria was abused her entire life but by people, she barely knew, and that’s how she got closer to Merope.

“The two of them were the best of friends, and so when I ran away from the palace and came here, Victoria helped me but Merope took a dislike to me, she thought I was stealing away Victoria from her. But she did endure me for the sake of Victoria.

“Merope fell in love with the muggle Victoria used to work for because he helped her once when your grandfather chased Merope and wanted to beat her. I believe at the time your father was engaged to this muggle girl, her name was Cecilia and your father wanted to impress her so he helped Merope.

“Then when Merope told Victoria, they had a small argument because Victoria said to Merope that she knows the man and she knows he is a snob and he would never do something good to anyone else.

“But they made up because Victoria apologized and didn’t want to lose her best friend. Few days after the incident the two got into a bigger argument, I asked Victoria to come with me to the palace after her father died, and she agreed but under the condition to take Merope with us.

“Of course your uncle and grandfather refused, we tried so many times to sneak her to escape them but your grandfather got so angry and he brought his son to hex me, we fought and they won. Two against one and this is how I got this scar.”

Then Zane pointed at his forehead, Tom looked at the discolored patch in Zane temple. Tom wasn’t surprised by his uncle and his grandfather's actions, they most likely cheated as well in that duel. Zane continued his story, “Merope told us to go, and we did. Which I greatly regret, to my surprise Victoria told me that Merope got married to the man she used to work for, Merope sent in weekly letters but they suddenly stopped, we searched but found no trace”.

Zane took a sudden stop, he said, “this is where she used to live, your uncle still lives here”. Tom stared at the shabby looking house, it was run down from some edges and a dead snake was stapled to the door. An invisible circle surrounded the house, Tom almost couldn’t spot it but the way a dragonfly dropped dead upon making a small connection with it alarmed him.

Zane noticed it as well, then he muttered, “I believe he doesn’t want any visitors”. Tom agreed and turned to fully look at Zane, “I believe you should leave for work and I will return to…home”.

Zane took out his shiny pocket watch, it was a golden one that opened strangely with several arrow lines to represent time. It was possibly the most peculiar thing that Zane owned. The older man noticed Tom looks and said with a smile, “this is a time turner”.

“It surely doesn’t look like one”, Tom quickly commented.

Zane glanced at him, then chuckled as he tucked it back into his pocket, “It’s a watch and a time turner, I found it a while ago and decided to keep it”, Zane stepped on a twig that snapped in half a bit loudly. Tom wanted to ask for more information about it but Zane hurriedly dismissed it from the topic of the conversation, “I found it in the palace, just before Rosalie and I came here”.

“I will see you later!”, with that Zane Apparated.

Tom stared at the spot the man once stood in, then he slowly continued to walk back to the cottage. Still thinking about the odd time turner. If Zane had acquired the time turner o the same night he and Rosalie escaped from the palace, then this must mean it was on the same night Fida strangled Rosalie.

To be fair, when Tom observed Fida actions toward Rosalie, and from what he heard from Malfoy. Rosalie was greatly loved by Fida. It was unbelievable that Fida would even think about doing anything to harm Rosalie, let alone attempting it. He suspected that Fida must be under the Imperio curse.

But, the question is How and Who? How someone put a curse on that strong woman that was always alarmed? And the other question is Who was that person?

Tom pushed the cottage door open and stepped inside the cottage, fully intending to go on with his investigation. But he completely discarded the thoughts once he took a glimpse of Rosalie walking inside her bedroom, the door now open.

She seemed to be searching for something, and she finally stopped in front of her vanity as she tied a portion of her hair with the red ribbon she held. Her eyes lifted to meet Tom's reflection. He was standing in the living room just beside the sofa, looking slightly startled when he noticed her staring at him, he expected a smile from her, a warm and a welcoming one.

But all he got was a small pout, she gave him a gentle glare. Then twirled to look at him, took few steps out of her room, and approached him “now, where in the world did you go? And there wasn’t even a note! I was going to die of concern!”.

Tom visibly hid his grin, did she think she looks terrifying? Good thing, she stopped talking and muttered some words under her breath, possibly under the lines of how she was worried. Then she quieted down, waving her hands to levitate steaming cups of tea towards him.

Rosalie suddenly stopped, watching an odd black owl. It was a giant one with phosphorescent yellow eyes, it perfectly landed on the dining table. A letter tied into it, Tom was closer to the owl and so he managed to untie the letter quicker, handed it to Rosalie.

She muttered a word of gratitude and glanced at the sender's name. She told Tom, “It’s from Eileen”. He tilted his head strangely but didn’t speak further as Rosalie opened the letter. Her face dropping as she read each line. Tom observed her features as she read through the short letter, and above a minute she finished reading. She folded the letter neatly.

“What is it?”, Tom asked.

Rosalie bit her lower lip and shook her head, frustration clear on her features. She huffed heavily and said, “Apparently her engagement with Orion Black was called off, her family got so angry and blamed her saying that it’s her fault he doesn’t want her. She was caught while she was in a muggle party with Alpherd Black-“, she stopped talking as a bubble of sadness suffocated her throat.

She looked away, breathed in and out. Tom hand awkwardly hovered over her own, then he pulled his hand away and watched her back rise and fall as she took deep breaths to calm down herself. The desire to want to pull her in a hug was getting strong, but not strong enough to overcome his logic.

“She doesn’t have a place to stay, she’s hiding in the leaky cauldron after selling her necklace”.

The scenario felt so familiar, painfully familiar. As if it happened before as if it was history unfolding within their lives again. Rosalie then remembered why she always imagined Merope Gaunt to look like Eileen; the two girls were sullen and lonely. The dark colors unwillingly painted more than their clothes. Tainted their lives.

They did nothing wrong, the only mistake they made was being born into families like that. Families that gave no regard to how they felt, forced them to do things, and abused them senseless more than just physically.

Rosalie finally made up her mind, she would never allow history to repeat itself. “I’m bringing her to live with us”.

“No”, Tom instantly replied.

Rosalie looked repulsed and then said, “Yes, Eileen needs us”. Tom shook his head and stood up from the table; not having any more appetite but the power to argue with Rosalie. The girl followed his movement as if to stand her ground in the discussion that was now beginning to brew.

“What is this? A charity house? No, she is not coming here and she didn’t ask for your help to begin with”, he said loudly, Rosalie chewed on her lip and glared at him. And Tom was thankful she couldn’t read his thoughts or she would know how much he wanted to kiss her lips right now.

“She didn’t ask but she obviously needs the help!”, Rosalie argued back and stepped closer to him, as if to intimidate him but it didn’t work. “What if she goes around telling everyone we live together? You know I don’t want anyone to know I was in a muggle orphanage!”.

“She won’t!”

“How can you be so sure?! Merlin you Hufflepuffs are insanely foolish!”.

“And what does that have to do with a Hogwarts house? Tom stop being adamant for once and listen to me! This is about someone’s life!” Rosalie's eyes watered, her stare to him was so sharp it could cut through the ice around his heart. And so, it did.

Tom walked inside his room and muttered, “Do what you desire”. The door slammed shut and resonated through the small living room. With that, Rosalie gave a sharp sigh and decided to just go on with her decision, she will get Eileen and save her from her family. She will do it no matter what, and it wouldn’t matter to her even if it stood on Tom's reputation.

“I’m going to go get her now”, Rosalie yelled through the door. She didn’t get any response back. With slight hesitation, just the thought that she angered Tom or upset him was making her feel as if she was doing something wrong as if she was the one at fault here.

Although she calculated it from every aspect, she was doing the right thing. But, it felt wrong. And Did Eileen really need her help? She wondered, in the letter Eileen didn’t ask for any help, and she wasn’t expecting any aid from Rosalie; since the girl lied to her and Elizabeth that she returned to the palace to spend Christmas with her family.

Still, her mind was set to at least check on Eileen. So she quickly picked up her coat and layered her robes over her coat. Then took a handful of floo powder, with a heavy sigh at upsetting Tom. She cried the name of the leaky cauldron fireplace.

Tom was wrathful at Rosalie, how could she offer help so easily to Eileen? They barely talked out of lessons and he was certain Eileen would never help Rosalie. So why was the brunette so willing to help? Being kind it wouldn’t do her any good.

It made him not only irritated but desperate to change her in that aspect.

* * *

**First of all, I want to thank the ones who comment on my work <3 it means so much to me, you guys have no idea about how many times I thought about discontinuing this story, especially since I got into a new stage of my life and felt like I wasn't fit to write at that time, let alone solve the plots that I created and thicken it, and the support at first was non-existent. But each time I get a notification of a reader telling me they love my book, it fills me up with joy and fuels me to go on. I know I keep asking to know what you guys think, but this is because I genuinely want to see how others view my story, other than me. Because as a writer I tend to nit pick my work and as you obviously know, this leads me to want to discontinue my story, but your support and kind words support me so much. So, Thank you! I love you all <3**

**Second of all, I thought it was necessary of me to show you guys the racism that not only Rosalie suffers from, but also all the black people around the world, and the time I'm currently narrating, the 40's were -and still- dark times to POC. In addition to that, I wanted to show that Pureblooded families would do the most to keep their family line pure. I would get in depth about that the following chapter. Thank you! <3**


	19. Chapter 17: The truth.

**Chapter 17: The truth.**

* * *

Eileen let a sharp scream, her eyes staring at Rosalie with shock. The latter ran towards her and hugged her tight, as the spectators who were guests at the leaky cauldron watched the scene unfold. Rosalie parted from Eileen and gasped as she checked her for any injuries. Eileen stood still with surprise overtaking any response she had.

  
“Are you alright? Are you cold? Hungry? Do you need anything? Merlin, I was so scared!”, Rosalie cried and held Eileen's hands tightly into her grasp. Eileen gulped and spoke slowly, “Rosalie? What- what are you doing here?”.

  
Rosalie sighed and said, “for you of course! I read your letter and you’re coming to live with me whether you like it or not”, Eileen took refugee to a nearby chair at the leaky cauldron dining hall, she narrowed her eyes and then said slowly, “but I sent you the letter an hour ago? There’s no way that owl was that fast”.

  
Rosalie sat near her and explained shortly, “that’s because I lied, I wasn’t spending Christmas with my grandmother”.

  
Eileen let a silent gasp and looked into Rosalie’s eyes with confusion, why would Rosalie ever need to lie about something like that? “It’s a long story, but for now I need to make sure you’re alright, tell me what happened please, with all the details”.

  
The raven-haired girl nodded, gulped, and licked her pale lips, “on Christmas morning, I heard Orion tell Walburga bad things about me, I got angry because I thought he was cheating on me but turns out that his family actually came that day to call off the engagement”, Eileen said but stopped when Rosalie handed her a cup of water.

  
Eileen didn’t know how the girl acquired one, but she took it gracefully and took large swigs from it to soothe her dry throat. When she finished it, Rosalie held her hands into her palm as if to warm them and Eileen couldn’t help but feel her lips turn downward and unwanted tears sparkle from her eyes.

  
“When my family knew they blamed me, saying it was because of me that he didn’t want me, Alphard Black took me to this muggle party, I met this boy his name was Tobias and we had an amazing time, I even forgot that I was miserable for a second, but all good things come to an end, the Black family found out about it and so did my mother and she, she- was so angry she hexed me“, Eileen stifled a cry and took a deep breath inside. Rosalie's thumb soothed her hand as she watched her with concern, tears were threatening to fall at any second.

  
“Where did she hex you?”, Rosalie asked calmly.

  
Eileen shook her head and whispered, “Don’t worry, I healed it and there’s only a scar left”, then she tucked the hair on the left side of her left behind her ear, showing a large scar that spread from her forehead towards her cheek. And it looked identical to the one Rosalie’s alternative self had.

  
It made the engines on Rosalie’s head work faster, she started to link dots as her face blanked from any expression. If people she knew from her current life were forced to her alternative life, then this must work on accidents as well. But Rosalie wasn’t sure, if she met Tom at 18 in her alternative life, then this means she met Eileen and everyone else after she’s 18.

  
But this means that all incidents that happen in their lives happen quicker now, which means Tom will be the dark lord younger than 18. Her heart dropped at this thought and her body chilled as her stomach tossed unpleasantly. He will start slaughtering muggles soon, very soon.

  
“So, now what happened to you?”, Eileen asked calmly and stared into Rosalie’s eyes with interest. The brunette smiled and explained her situation, she told her how her mother was close friends with a pureblooded witch and that witch was Tom's mother. And that he was now living with her.

  
Eileen listened attentively, and when Rosalie finished telling her story she said hopefully, “you have to keep this between us three, okay? Me, you and Tom only know about it”, Eileen nodded then asked slowly, “Elizabeth doesn’t know?”. Rosalie looked to the side with shame, and her action was simple enough for Eileen to understand that the blonde was completely oblivious of what was happening in her supposed best friend's life.

  
“so let’s go home”, Rosalie whispered. Eileen's eyes widened and she instantly shook her head with a gentle smile at Rosalie, “thank you for going out of your way to help me but Alphard lives alone and I expect him to come to pick me up any time soon”.

  
“You really don’t have to go, you’re welcome in my house at any time”, Rosalie said.

  
Eileen grinned and stood up, making the brunette stand up as well, “I wrote that letter to you because I was distressed and something about you calms me down, and I know I’m welcome at your house, Rosalie you are a kind girl”.

  
The raven headed girl looked warmly at Rosalie as she completed her words, “and I finally see why Riddle favors you”. Rosalie blushed slightly and muttered, “he doesn’t, we fight all the time”.

  
“you do realize fights bring people closer, right?”, Eileen asked strangely, as if she knew something Rosalie didn’t. The girl raised an eyebrow at Rosalie then heaved a sigh and beamed, “now that you told me all of this, I feel at ease knowing that no one is perfect with all the displays that they show, take Riddle for an example”.

  
Eileen was acting odd, and Rosalie couldn’t help but feel uneasy with the way Eileen was looking away for long moments and smiling to herself, as if she was planning to do something with the piece of information Rosalie told her, but she completely rid the thought of her head.

  
“Now that you’re doing alright, I believe I should leave”, Rosalie said, smiling at Eileen as she hugged her tight. Then she pulled herself away from her, “If you need anything or you need to talk just send me an owl and I will be there immediately”. With that, Rosalie returned to the little cottage.

  
She stepped out of the fireplace gently and looked at Tom bedroom door, it was still shut and Rosalie walked towards it, she sighed heavily before raising her fisted hand to knock her knuckles on his door, she didn’t get an answer back, nor did she hear a shuffle coming from there. She assumed he left the cottage and so she stalked away.

  
Since then Rosalie didn’t take a glimpse of Tom, he wasn’t in the cottage and he wasn’t in the small garden around it. Then the conclusions and patterns began forming in Rosalie’s head, the girl now felt immensely guilty for doing something Tom was fully against.

  
She felt selfish and she blamed herself for being selfish, she truly disliked herself at that moment. Her brain was running engines all day as it made the worse case scenarios. She didn’t get anything back in return but guilt and regret filling her heart, and her eyes burning as tears formed there.

  
What if Tom returned to the orphanage? What if he went to live with his cruel uncle? What if he leaves and never comes back?

  
The last thought made her heart hefty and her limps felt cold as if a dementor was near her. Still, she tried to get rid of these thoughts, she will wait these painful hours until midnight.

  
And so she waited patiently that day, breakfast and lunch and dinner all passed and still no sign of Tom. She worked in the garden and faintly smiled once a rose forms as she passes the cluster of bushes, and she played with Persephone, her elegant flat-faced cat, she finished all of her winter holiday homework and even went as far as to force information about potions inside her uneased head.

  
Until the point when the clock in the living room showed that it was slightly before midnight, and the cottage door creaked open. Rosalie raised her head to find Tom, looking safe and poised as he completely ignored her presence. But it didn’t matter to Rosalie, Tom was back.

  
She stood up and followed him, he walked inside his room and sat in his study, taking out rolls of parchment. Possibly to study. Still, Rosalie stood with high expectations next to him, as his quill scratched on the paper.

  
“You’re blocking the candle, do you mind?”, Tom said lowly and Rosalie remained in her place, “We need to talk”, she said hurriedly  
“there’s nothing to talk about”.

  
“yes there is, and I’m here to apologize about being stubborn earlier”, she said and then her hand hovered over Tom's shoulder, then pressed it gently and said honestly, “I’m really sorry”, he still didn’t spare her a single look. “Your apology is heard but not accepted”, he said.

  
Rosalie was determined on getting him to accept her apology, and stop his ignorance, she was sure he will make it escalate and soon it will turn into silent treatment, or worse, leave the cottage and never look back.

  
“What should I do to make you accept my apology?”.

  
With the light of speed, and a green light forming over his head, Rosalie was sure she did a great job at getting his full attention. Tom finally looked at her “there’s actually something you can do to me…several actually” then stood up, towering over her.

  
Rosalie gulped, but she gave him a single nod for him to elaborate. And Tom didn’t disappoint, “You see, I just visited my uncle and he had a ring that I really liked and wanted”. Rosalie raised an eyebrow and asked, “You want me to steal the ring?”.

  
Tom stilled and his looks pierced through her skull, with his hard stare Rosalie assumed that his silence means that he agrees. She heaved a sigh and gave a short nod and asked once again, “What’s the other requests?”.

  
“You must obey me again”.

  
Rosalie choked on her saliva and gulped as she said instantly, “What?! Tom that’s impossible! I’m not your pawn”. Tom gently cupped her left cheek and said, “I never said that, you’re far more important than a worthless pawn”.

  
Her breath quickened and her heart was pounding so fast she knew Tom must have heard it as it was throbbing in her ear, she looked at the floor and whispered, “I can’t do that”, Tom sighed and retrieved his hand, faking a look of slight disappointment, “Then my other request is to stop talking to Hornby”.

  
“But he’s my friend-“.

  
“We both know that’s not the truth, he’s worthless of your time and attention”, Tom interrupted her and looked outside the window as the full moon was shining brightly through the curtains, “We will visit my uncle tomorrow, I will distract him by speaking and you take the ring from his finger”.

  
And he pushed Rosalie out of his room, the girl tried to resist and complained, “You didn’t tell me anything about the ring being in his finger and how am I supposed to do that without being hexed to my death!”, Tom finally brought her to the doorframe and he said, “I would never let that happen”.

  
Then he shut his door, Rosalie stood there with her heavy heart. Uncertainty filling her heart, if only she was born with a rougher heart that won’t risk everything to gain people’s approval. Still, she walked back to her bedroom to get some rest, a long day is ahead of her.

  
The following night, Tom stood by the fireplace, his hands flipping through his black diary, wearing the expensive robes Rosalie gifted him this Christmas, as he patiently waited for her. Not too long after, her bedroom door squealed open, Persephone came bouncing out of Rosalie’s room. Rosalie followed her moments after, her chest held high as she clinched her wand tightly, Tom took seconds to take in her appearance, noticing the nervous tension she said, “Let’s go”.

  
Tom strode across the living room, and opened the cottage door for Rosalie, the girl muttered a quick thank you as they took a silent journey to the Gaunt rundown house, Rosalie heart beating at an abnormal velocity. Her breath showing in the air in front of her, and it exposed her nervous state; if it wasn’t already clear to Tom through her quick steps to get everything over with.

  
Just like a sheep walking to the wolf’s den, willingly. Tom surveyed her and she hardly noticed his stare from the way she was fixated on the snowy avenue. Persephone was long forgotten inside the warm cottage, and it seemed as if the Persian cat refused to join the two on their difficult mission.

  
“Walk slower”, Tom demanded, Rosalie glanced at him as she elegantly replied, “Excuse me for being nervous about stealing something from a mad man”, Tom walked faster, nearing her as he said, “I knew that you didn’t want to do it”.

  
“Of course I don’t want to! For your information the first time I saw him he tried to murder me!”, she hissed and huffed her hot breath into her cold hands. Tom didn’t say anything as moments passed, until he cracked, “If Potter or Hornby asked you to get them the stars you would”.

  
Rosalie rolled her eyes at him and said, “What are you trying to say?”. Tom stopped in his tracks, making Rosalie stop as she turned to fully face him. Tom looked at her with no expression written on his handsome features, but if she looked harder she would see the coldness showing in his raven orbs, he finally said, “I’m not your priority”.

  
Rosalie uncrossed her arms, her features softening and guilt filling her heart. Tom needn’t add another word, Rosalie anger faded with his sentence. She looked at him and said sincerely, “I love you all equally, and I would get the stars to each one of you”, although her words were supposed to be soothing, they were the exact opposite to Tom. She placed him on the same level as them, he wasn’t like Elizabeth or Leo, he was so different and he was certain his charming personality would attract Rosalie, but all it did was she considered him a part of her inner circle with many other people.

  
He wasn’t happy with that. Luckily, as Rosalie peaked behind him her eyes spotted the end of their destination. She gave a gentle exhalation and pointed at the house, they both walked towards it, this time at a matching speed. Tom muttered a few words in Parseltongue, and the invisible protection bubble popped gently and burned to ashes. The dead snake that was stabled on the door came back to life as it hissed back to Tom.

  
Finally, the door opened. Thus, the two teenagers stepped inside cautiously. Rosalie took in the grotesque state of the house, she recognized dozens of fire whiskey and various liquors glass littering the floor, the room was cramped with dark wooden furniture that collected mold and dust.

  
Three shut doors that were in various directions of the cramped living room. Then Morfin Gaunt appeared behind a dusty cabinet, few feet away from Rosalie. Tom brought her on his other side just before his uncle says something, “I see you brought company”.

  
Tom's head stilled as his uncle said, “a mudblood? Or a muggle? An apple doesn’t fall far from the tree after all”.

  
“Half-blood”, Rosalie said hurriedly.

  
Morfin tightened his eyes with his sharp stare piercing through Rosalie’s mind, her features that he could never mistaken, still, he slowly said with obvious doubt. “You look like someone I used to know”. Tom asked, “Victoria?”.

  
Morfin sat idly on the sturdy armchair facing the fireplace; which shockingly was the only piece of furniture that wasn’t collecting dust, “You’re that muggle daughter?”. Rosalie couldn’t control her voice as she wished, so she resolved to nod, Tom replied for her again.

  
“Yes”.

  
Rosalie's eyes traced Morfin's hands, trying to locate the ring. And there it was, wrapped around his index. The golden band with the black gem with the deathly hollows carved into it. It looked stunning, “What are you here for?”, Morfin asked, noticing Rosalie’s hard stare on his ring.

  
“Tell me more about my mother”, Tom demanded.

  
“I told you everything yesterday”, Morfin dismissed.

  
Then he turned to look at Rosalie, “What happened to your mother? Did she die?”, Rosalie cleared her throat and replied, “She passed away”.

  
“Good, filthy muggle that told Merope she should escape”, Morfin said starkly, his hand gripping his wand as he swished it lightly; bringing a fire whiskey from the dusty cabinet closer to him. Rosalie glared at him as she said, “You did abuse Merope, I’m sure they’re both in heaven mocking this state you’re in”.

  
Morfin forced a deep-throated chuckle, full of sarcasm, “Where did you find this little one?”, He said, directing his inquiry to Tom. The latter ignored his question as his hand held Rosalie’s enfolding it and glancing at the ring. Thus reminded Rosalie she’s not here to argue with Morfin, she will swiftly take the ring and leave.

Rosalie took her hand out of Tom’s grasp as she held it out to Morfin, she elegantly said with a forced smile, “I’m sorry, let’s start over. I’m Rosalie Abella and I’m Tom friend”. Morfin glared at her hand, obviously not wanting to shake hands. Still, Rosalie was adamant.

  
Her hand thrust to pull his and force it into a handshake, a firm one. “Pleased to meet you, sir”. Her orbs staring sharply into his eyes, and not once did she break the eye contact. Rosalie finally pulled her hand back to her; along with the ring that resided in her closed palm.

  
Luckily, Morfin didn’t notice that. With that, Tom gave an individual nod to his uncle as he walked towards the door, Rosalie sigh of relief stilled in her throat as she waited patiently to exit the Gaunt house, safely.

  
“Wait”, Morfin ordered.

  
The two immediately stopped walking, their hearts beating in their ears and even though it was incredibly cold inside the house, it rapidly went hot with the rising tension. Rosalie turned around first, smiling innocently as she asked, “Yes?”.

  
Morfin stepped closer to them, his wand pointing at Rosalie, “Give me my ring back”. Rosalie raised an eyebrow as she asked, “what ring?”. Morfin howled, “the ring you just stole!” Tom said, “are you accusing Rosalie with thievery? You’re an old man you possibly lost it”.

  
Rosalie gave a sigh, “He’s right, I did steal it”, taking out the ring from her pocket as she handed it to Morfin, muttering a flat apology. As Morfin clutched the ring, Rosalie instantly shouted, “Stupefy!” and successfully disarmed him, his wand falling just in front of Tom. Rosalie shouted once again, “Alarte Ascendare!”, Morfin's body flew to the back of the house, his head hitting the wall, he laid there unconscious, Rosalie sprinted to him and took the ring out of his tight grasp.

  
Tom watched her, amused. And if he wasn’t already attracted to her, he would fall for her again. Rosalie held his hand tightly as she pulled him quickly out of the house, Tom still clutching Morfin's wand, “Let’s go home”, she said calmly, as if she didn’t knock out a grown man and steal his ring.

  
As they walked a few steps towards the cottage, Tom's mind wandered off. What if he used his uncle's wand to kill his muggle father? Then he would purposefully not have any ties to muggles. He was thinking of doing that in his fifth year but after seeing Rosalie living in little Hangleton, he decided otherwise; he didn’t trust her.

  
However, it’s different now. Rosalie loves him, she’s wrapped around his finger like a ring, whether she admits it or not, he can pull of any act in front of her and she would instantly take his side. Rosalie was different, he told himself.

  
Tom stopped in his tracks, playing with his uncle's wand as he collected his words to tell Rosalie. A perfect act, so perfect that she can’t see through it. Rosalie looked at the wand between his hands she said, “We should return the wand”.

  
“Let’s go visit my father”, Tom offered, tucking the wand in his robes. Rosalie raised her jaw and pushed out her chest, trying her best to fight the anxiety taking over her face. Tom wasn’t normal, but again, he was never normal, but this statue of him with murder obvious on his face. Rosalie couldn’t help but get concerned, still, she asked, “Why?”.

  
“I have few words to tell him, and your mother worked for him, aren’t you curious to see what he’s like?”, Tom cleverly replied. Rosalie slowly nodded, unaware of his actual intentions with the façade he outlined just for her.

  
The two picked up their pace, this time to a different destination. To the Riddle manor. In silence, with no arguments filling the cold air. Rosalie raised the Gaunt ring to her eye level as she gazed at it, it was so beautiful. And looking at it more, it made her forget the guilt of stealing it.

  
Soon, the thick forest broke to show the small village of Little Hangleton. Tom quickly put on Rosalie’s hood, then did the same for himself. They mustn’t be recognized, especially for the crime he would do at such time. Rosalie was busy looking around the disorganized houses with smoke coming out of the chimneys.

  
The moon was seen behind thick clouds moving so quickly, the stars shone so brightly that night. As if they were singing a sad lullaby to Rosalie who was falling in love with Tom. The man that would make a name that people feared to say in the future. Still, Rosalie remained clueless, forcefully kicking the anxiety clouding the pit of her stomach.

  
Finally, they reached the Riddle household. The manor was large and spoke extravagance in every way, the lights were shining through the windows. And that was the only signal Tom needed; for Rosalie mostly to not freak out seeing him walk inside with them asleep, she would know that he intended on killing them.

  
Tom knocked on the door and Rosalie hid the ring in her pocket. Soon after, and Tom’s delight. The door was opened by an old man. The man squinted at Tom's face, then he glanced at Rosalie. Confusion filling his entire face. “Hello sir, I’m Tom and this is my darling, Rosalie”.

  
The old man asked, harshly if Tom looked harder, “What do you want?”. Tom said softly, “We were wondering if you could allow me to use the Telephone?”, Thomas, the older man agreed slowly as he stood out of their way, his arm directing them towards the spacious hall with the telephone sitting idly above a handsome cupboard.

  
“Who is it?”, a voice asked, and footsteps walking loudly as they neared the hall. Soon, a man that looked exactly like Tom Riddle, his father. “they are here to use the telephone”, Thomas dismissed. Still, Tom senior stood there, shock overtaking him as he watched a young man that looked exactly like him inside his house.

  
“Hello father,” Tom smirked. Tom senior shook his head, anger flooding him, “I’m not your father! I have no relation to a child!”, Tom senior walked towards Tom as he pointed his index at his chest, “You’re not my son, frankly I have no wife”.

  
“Oh yes you do, Merope. Remember? Right, you neglected her in a cold winter just like this one”, Tom said, walking closer to his father, their glares matching. A deep frown never left Tom's senior face. However, Tom Riddle had an evil smirk with a glare, he looked mad.

  
“Get out, Get out!”, Tom senior yelled, as he pointed at the door, “Why are you yelling, Father? I’m here to do one simple thing, and leave”, then he took Morfin’s wand out of his pocket, pointing it at his father, hissing an unforgivable curse, one that made Rosalie gasp and steps away, “Crucio”.

  
Tom's senior body fell to the floor, as he writhed in pain, his screams loud to the point it penetrated eardrums. Tom Riddle had a mad grin across his lips as he watched his biological father suffer in pain, his heart touching the depth of insanity and pure joy as he watched him agonize.

  
Thomas shouted, and cried for help. And clutched Tom’s arm as he tried to take the wand out of his hand. Tom simply pushed the old man to the floor, his head pumping the last step of the staircase. Rosalie stood in the corner of the room, not knowing what to do.

  
Thomas brought a heavy wooden chair, holding it above his head as he ran to Tom’s direction, attempting to throw the chair at him. This time Tom turned around to push him and point his wand at Thomas, as he hissed a different unforgivable curse, “Avada Kedavra!”. A green flash blinded everyone for a moment, then the man dropped dead.

  
Then Tom pointed his wand to his father, this time screaming the curse with more hate, “Avada Kedavra!”, The house fell to dead silence, and the corpses laid across the wooden floor. Rosalie hid her mouth as tears were filling her eyes, she watched Tom turn around to walk to her, the girl stepped away from him.

  
She was scared.

  
This hurt Tom more than he would want, pain ached through his veins. Rosalie, the girl that he cherished was scared of him. Still, Tom near her, embracing her quivering body as he whispered, “Don’t be scared, I would never hurt you”.

  
He hugged her for long moments, and she never wrapped her arms around him. It was like rubbing salt over an open wound. She was scared, and she neglected and refused him; slowly closing her heart from him.

  
Tom parted from the lone hug, as he pulled her outside with him, “We have to go before the Aurors come here”. Tom ran out of the house, pulling Rosalie as they sprinted across the forest towards the Gaunt’s house.

  
The sharp cold air was slapping Tom across the face, and truly, it felt better than seeing Rosalie's eyes filled with tears he caused. Rosalie felt like a doll, a plaything for Tom. She watched him kill two people, and she even stole something, all to please him.

  
When they reached the house, Tom kicked the door open. His eyes tracing where Morfin would be, and when he saw him sitting on the armchair, he hissed the third unforgivable curse this night, “Imperio”.

  
Tom gave his uncle his wand and whispered, “you killed Tom and Thomas Riddle”. Morfin's eyes looked glazed, and just after Tom exited the house with the frozen Rosalie. Morfin began screaming about how he killed the muggles. Rosalie covered her ears, but Tom forcefully pulled her right arm to pull her with him to the cottage, “let’s go home”, he said.

  
Normally, it would fill Rosalie with happiness; Tom considered the cottage home, and she was part of the home as well. Nevertheless, she felt as if she willingly accepted a monster into her family, into her house, and into her heart. As soon as they reached the cottage, which they reached quite quickly with Tom’s speed. Rosalie's tears glossed over her eyes once again.

  
Tom turned to face her after he closed the cottage door, with an even stronger blow to his heart, Rosalie exploded with suffocated tears. She began hyperventilating as she attempted to wipe her tears with the back of her hand.

  
Two people died in front of her, by the young man she loved, and she was unable to do anything. Coward, she called herself. Her legs gave up on her, she fell to the ground as she cried heavily. She pitied her state, she truly did. If only she was a bit stronger if she was a bit smarter. If she was less kind, then maybe none of this would happen. 

  
Tom sat down on the floor just before her, he tried to take off her hands away from her face. Instead, she screamed, “Why didn’t you kill me instead?! Why did you do all of this?!”.

  
Persephone twirled around Rosalie, the white cat pawing Rosalie’s legs, using anyway to make her owner less miserable. Tom tried to hug the girl, maybe if she heard his racing heart; she would stop. If only she knew that he would never allow anything to taint her.

  
Rosalie simply slapped his arms away from her as she cried, “Don’t touch me!”. Tom's hand hovered over her back tensely, her tears continued to fall, with each hiccup and sob. Tom's heart would sink lower, he never felt helpless before and never imagined Rosalie to refuse his advances.

  
She was kind, too kind for her good, and tonight she realized that, the hard way. After several long seconds, of Rosalie weeping her life and Tom sitting just beside her, pain filling his heart, she finally stopped crying, as if her eyes couldn’t bear to shed more tears.

  
Her heart was aching and the wound originated in her heart, she cursed her life and everything she brought to herself. Was this truly her fate? To get on the good side of the future terrorizer to betray him after, then she wouldn’t live her own life. God how she missed her older days in her grandmother’s castle, just enjoying her days that were filled with laughter. And her only concern would be Canna hexing her or setting a cruel prank just for her. At least, she was happy at that time.

  
She wondered if she stayed in Uagadou, would she still meet Tom, watch him ruin her life, and kill everyone she knew? Naïve, the only word she could use to describe herself at this moment. Coward, if only she was as brave as her grandmother.

  
Still, it’s not the end yet. If Rosalie’s purpose in this life was to fall in love deeply with a mass murderer, then she will make sure to bring him down. If she couldn’t stop him this night, then she will make sure to stop him in the future.

  
“What are we going to do now?”, she asked softly, looking away as her heart didn’t allow her to look at the young man that killed two men and framed his uncle.

  
Tom was taken back, he continued to be quiet for few long moments; pondering over how to approach Rosalie now. The sweet girl that was like a harmless rosebud, that matured to be a thornful rose that he deeply wanted to touch, but unaware how to handle it, “We will keep it a secret, we will take it to the grave”.

  
Rosalie gave him a single nod. A secret that will be taken to the grave, just like this whole night. Tom caressed her head, a sign of possible affection? Rosalie wasn’t certain. The same hands that killed tonight, was now giving her affection. Rosalie tucked her hand into her pocket, taking the ring out, and finally handed it to Tom. He took it, his slender colder finger purposefully touching hers.

  
Although it was meant to be comforting, Rosalie couldn’t help but get repulsed by it. Her core tightening as she looked at the floor to avoid looking inside his dark eyes. Tom noticed that he stood up from the floor abruptly, making Rosalie look up at him, he gladly looked down at her. The kindness and softness he portrayed for her faded, like a slap that landed on his cheeks to wake him up.

  
He was not acting like himself.

  
He walked towards his bedroom and shut the door, a part of him hoping that Rosalie would wake up the next morning, grinning widely at him as she guides him to the dining table. Maybe, just maybe he would see her smile just for him again.

  
Nevertheless, that night neither of them drifted away to sleep.

* * *

**These two idiots have been living in the same house for a week now and not once did they kiss, wow.**


	20. Chapter 18: First Kiss.

Chapter 18: First Kiss.

* * *

Dumbledore sat idly in his armchair facing his office door as he waited patiently for his guest's arrival. A strange crime took place in little Hangleton, and he couldn’t help his brain that gladly connected the dots under his assumptions. Tom Riddle killed his muggle side of the family and blamed it on his drunken uncle, it was the perfect plan.

  
He had his own reasons to doubt Tom, especially after the murder of Myrtle Warren the previous year. Especially after his first meeting with Tom; who stamped a very disturbing first impression over Dumbledore’s brain.

  
The crime happened exactly two weeks ago, it’s currently a week and a half into the new term. Everything was going peacefully. Still, Dumbledore noticed the new tension in Rosalie and Tom's relationship. The girl avoided him and could be seen zooming from her classes towards the Hufflepuff dormitory, only leaving it to meet up with Elizabeth to watch her practice Quidditch with the Gryffindor team.

  
Something happened between them, Dumbledore was certain of this.

  
The noise of stones friction pulled him out of his thoughts, he watched the bird statue to rotate one last time to reveal his guest; Rosalie. “Hello”, she greeted with a smile politely and strode across his office to sit on the chair facing his desk.

  
“Would you like to have some tea?”, Dumbledore offered.

  
Rosalie shook her head and explained, “I’ve already had some, thank you”. Dumbledore subtly nodded his head and made the floating tea trays return on top of his cupboard. “How are you doing, Rosalie?” he asked politely, with a sudden gust of interest that is unexpected from Dumbledore. The girl said dismissively, “I’m doing great, sir”.

  
“anything new happening in your life?”.

  
“Not much really”.

  
“That’s strange, I was under the impression that you were dating mister Hornby”, he said with a raised eyebrow in superficial curiosity. The girl shook her head then voiced out, “No, we are not”. Dumbledore asked, “What about Riddle? Are you dating him?”.

  
“No, sir, is it crucial to you that I date someone? Can’t I simply not be interested?”, Rosalie said impatiently, “I apologize for being rude, however, I’m awfully busy with my studies so I would appreciate it if you would go on with what you wanted to talk about, I don’t think you called for me to speak to you about my dating life”.

  
Dumbledore's jaw slacked at her words, now fully noticing the faint dark circles under her eyes. Smoothing the conversation with her didn’t work at all with her stress leading her. So he would just start his straightforward questionnaire.

  
“I was told by your father that Riddle has been living with you”, he said, Rosalie watched him with sullen eyes as her hands balled into a fist over her lap. “A family of muggles, who happened to be Tom Riddle's paternal family, ever heard of it?”. Rosalie nodded and said, “Dad told me about it, Tom uncle killed them”.

  
Dumbledore brought his hands to clasp over his desk and finally asked, “Do you happen to remember where Tom was at that night?”, Rosalie gave a sharp inhale and asked loudly, “Are you accusing Tom of killing them?”, the sudden loudness of her usual politeness made it shocking for Dumbledore. Still, he said, “I’m not accusing anyone of anything, Rosalie. I simply have my suspicions; you see… Tom is rather unsettling”.

  
Rosalie shook her head, giving Dumbledore a rather terrifying glare, “Bullshit”, she said. And she was aware that if Elizabeth heard her say such word she would holler with excitement. The girl stood up from her chair and said, “Sir, if you had an idea that you have a struggling student that never received care and love from anyone, who had an unsettling aura like you’re claiming. Shouldn’t you offer help rather than accuse someone of killing their only family?”.

  
Dumbledore stood up as well, trying his best not to say or do anything that would trigger Rosalie, “Your thought process is admirable, Rosalie. However, sometimes it’s too late to offer help”. The girl bit her upper lip then closed her eyes for few seconds, “Sir, that’s plain disappointing to say that to a student that looks up to you, a student that’s under your care”.  
He began, “I’m sorry if my words seemed to be attacking Tom, bu-“.

  
“Your apology is accepted, good day to you sir”, Rosalie said her last words and exited his office. As soon as the girl faced the cobblestoned corridor she gave a calming sigh and walked many steps to be met with the portraits, and soon after, Elizabeth came clinging to Rosalie’s arm as she asked, “what did Dumbledore want to talk about?”, her interest already diverted to watch two Hufflepuffs shamelessly snogging on top of the window seats. “Get a room, Eh!”, Elizabeth chanted.

  
When the blonde turned her face to stare at Rosalie, noticing the dark circles under her eyes, “Are you alright, Rose? You look awful”. Rosalie forced a chuckle and rolled her eyes, “Thanks” she said. Elizabeth giggled and explained, “You know that’s not what I mean, you seem exhausted. Also you’re pretty rude lately”, and before Rosalie could refuse Elizabeth last statement she found herself screaming at the two previous Hufflepuffs who still didn’t part from their make-out session, “A disgrace to Hufflepuff! Honestly!”.

  
Elizabeth couldn’t hide her chuckle and smirked, “I like this new mean version of you”. Rosalie sighed heavily as a frown appeared over her lips, “I don’t like it, I’m nice!” she told Elizabeth that raised her eyebrow with an ominous tilt of her head, “Or are you just showing us your deepest thoughts? Rose, I hate to say it but you’re not flawless”.

  
Rosalie stopped and stomped her feet playfully over the cobblestone, “How could you find out my deepest secret?!”, she hissed a whisper. The two girls giggled and continued their journey towards the library, “Right, Euphemia and her fiancée are getting married this summer break, It’s after your competition so you must come!”.

  
“her fiancée? Really? He’s your brother”, a voice called beside Rosalie. The two girls flinched with a slight surprise and turned to face Leo that smiled charmingly at Rosalie. “Also, be my plus one to the wedding”, he said, or more like demanded. Rosalie was subtly affected by Dumbledore forcing himself into her dating life. Fortunately right before the girl could refuse. Elizabeth butted in, “She is a guest as well and she gets her own plus one, leave!”.

  
Leo forced a huff and turned to face Rosalie, the girl's eyes widened and she instantly jumped onto the moving stairs, her palm waving at them with a huge smile, “I will see you two later!” then turned hastily to face the end of the stairs that took the shortest route to the library.

  
Leo turned to look at Elizabeth, “Do you also think Rosalie is avoiding me?”, he asked. Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders then let a shuddering yawn, “Maybe”. He croaked then demanded, “I need you to help me with Rosalie”.

  
Elizabeth bit her lips into a thin line as she blinked at him with full judgments, Leo uncomfortably stared hard into her critical eyes, and mumbled, “Please?”. Elizabeth yawned again then said, “Rosalie is a princess, what makes you think you’re worthy to have her? Even when her grandma came last year she didn’t like you”.

  
“I’m clever, I’m tall and good looking, also I’m well-off not to speak about the deep passion to be a healer then open up my own hospital”, he bragged. As soon as he finished Elizabeth made a deep-throated noise of disapproval, lifted her finger as she said confidently, “You’re only academically smart, and you’re a snob also a big git”.

  
Leo pleaded, “Help me! Please?! I mean I have a great chance with Rosalie I just need her to reciprocate a bit!”, Elizabeth walked down the stairs with Leo tailing her closely, “You have no chance, last time I asked Rosalie about her type, do you know what she said? She said someone with a nice smile and a kind personality and let’s be honest here, you’re a big git and you rarely smile!”.

  
Leo forced the corners of his lips into a smile, then glared at Elizabeth, “I’m just asking for help!”, the girl yawned for the third time and covered her mouth for the first time as she said, “And I’m just refusing, Rosalie is my best friend. If she doesn’t like you then I can’t force her to like you”, she gave him an apologetic look then bolted away before he could stop her.

  
Still, the chance came to Leo on a silver platter, he didn’t want to consider it a chance, It would paint him in a selfish aspect but he couldn’t help by want to abuse the power of that chance. It happened on an early morning of a weekday, he was sitting by the Ravenclaw table. He was silently eating his porridge as his owl, Charles. Flew just beside his bowl and knocked down the goblet of pumpkin juice.

  
He took off the letter that informed him of the death of one of his far relatives. The great aunt of his father that died due to old age, he barely knew the woman. But he does know she was unpleasant enough for him to quickly get over the sadness that came over him. Although sadness swiped away, guilt landed over his shoulders when he saw Rosalie standing up from the Hufflepuff table, obviously to go to the library to study for the silly competition that forced her away from him, he liked to believe that.

  
With no shame, Leo stood up. Clutching the letter inside his palm and took the shortest route to the library to reach the library before Rosalie could disappear between the heavy bookshelves. His long legs helped him take three steps of stairs at a time, and once he reached the library he noticed that he had been breathing heavily as he took a fifteen-minute trip in five minutes.

  
His head pounded along his heart, and he let a sigh of relief when he saw Rosalie on one of the east moving stairs, he arrived before her. And so he took the extra minutes fixing his appearance and steady his breath. Rosalie finally arrived, gracefully walking towards the library. Before she could enter, Leo rested his palm over her shoulder. The girl turned to face him, her face cracked into a polite smile, “good morning, Leo”.

  
With his best impression of a sad face, Leo looked at her. Just from his pained look, the girl asked instantly as her grin fell, “What’s the matter?”.  
“Can I talk to you?”, he asked.

  
Rosalie earnest heart discarded the thought of studying with the sight of his sad look. “Yes, of course”. She said and followed him to sit on the window seat a few feet away from the library. Leo gave her the letter and watched her eyes widen with each line. As she finished she placed the letter next to her and held his hands, electricity ran through his spine. This was wrong, he lied to Rosalie to have her give him fractions of her attention. This was wrong, but why did it feel so good? He asked his heart.

  
This was wrong, still, he truly wanted the girl to look and think of nobody or anything but him. So he shamelessly added, “I was close to her”. Rosalie's sympathy deepened and circled her arms around his shoulders, bringing him closer to her heart as she said, “I’m so sorry for your loss, you can mourn her death as long and as much as you want, and then I promise you that you will feel better”.  
Her intentions were so pure, making the shocking electricity increase as it made his body tingle. Would he feel this way as well if Rosalie was his lover? He wondered, it felt insanely pleasurable. He silently sniffed her vanilla and roses perfume. Her soft hair that tangled with his fingers. Was this a dream? Or did he die and get greeted in heaven by such a beautiful angel? He thought.

  
If only he could call her, his. If only he can shamelessly kiss her soft-looking lips. The comforting patting on his back increased his euphoria. He opened his eyes when he heard Rosalie say, “It’s alright, you can cry”. When did he close his eyes? When he opened his eyes he was met with Tom Riddle standing a few feet away from them.

  
Rosalie wasn’t aware of his presence, which made Leo take his sweet time of observing Tom raging face, Leo smirked at Tom and mouthed, “loser”.

  
“fifty points of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff!”, Tom said loudly, loud enough to make Rosalie flinch and slowly part away from Leo, she turned to look at Tom; who instantly walked inside the library. “What’s his problem?”, the girl whispered.

  
“Don’t worry about him, thank you for consoling me”, Leo said and held Rosalie’s hand, she frowned with concern and empathy at him, “Is there anything I can do?”. Leo said with a fake pained tone, “I will think about it. Thank you”, he stood up, taking the letter from the bench as he crumbled it, “I will be fine, I won’t die”.

  
“Yes but you’re sad”, Rosalie added with raising worry.

  
“At least I have you to make me feel better”, Leo said with a small grin, Rosalie mirrored his grin and then watched him walk away, he wondered if she can see him fighting the light skip in his steps. But he quickly dismissed the thought as he remembered the feeling of her warm embrace. He felt like he can fight the largest troll of all, and he was certain he would win.

  
His ecstasy made him forget the fact that his house just lost fifty points. Unlike Rosalie that stormed off from her seat to follow Tom. And when she found him she made him face her and shouted, “What the hell was that?!”, she received a group of shushes from the few students studying in the library.

  
“I saw you break the rules and I took points, any problem with that?”, Tom said coldly, not looking for a specific answer from Rosalie that rolled her eyes and dragged him outside with her. She stopped in the same window seat and argued, “We weren’t even snogging!”.

  
Tom bit the insides of his right cheek, glaring at Rosalie as he repeated, “weren’t even snogging?”. Rosalie nodded her head harshly and watched Tom force a sarcastic chuckle, “The way you said it meant you were looking for more, you like that git?”.

  
Rosalie's nostrils flared as she joined her hands together under her jaw, she waited for few moments before asking, “Why is everyone concerned about who I like? Even Dumbledore seems to want to force me into unnecessary conflict!”, Tom frowned slightly before asking, “Dumbledore?”.

  
She gave a sigh and said, “Yes, also stop this madness! I’m angry at you therefore I’m not talking to you, don’t drag other people into it! Just because I was consoling Leo for his grandmother's loss doesn’t give you the right to get jealous and take points!”.

  
Tom sealed his lips shut and watched Rosalie glare at him shortly before storming somewhere else. His blood continued to boil each time he remembered the scene of Leo tightly hugging Rosalie. How dare him? Rosalie belonged to him only. Still, Tom was much smarter than going up to Leo and fighting him, this will only let him get Rosalie’s sympathy and she would be raging at Tom.

  
There was no way in the world that Leo’s grandmother died and he was using that as a card to gain Rosalie’s attention, he wasn’t that emotionless. Tom was certain that Leo must have lied to Rosalie. And so he decided he would pay Leo’s younger sister a visit and share his condolences at the sudden loss.

  
Olive Hornby, the Ravenclaw bully. Detecting her was incredibly easy, she always surrounded herself with a gang of the same year as her, she only walked in places away from her brother. She loved picking up on younger Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, not daring to test the Hufflepuffs that were under Rosalie’s care nor the Slytherins who were not afraid of striking back.

  
After dinnertime, to make sure that Rosalie left the great hall as well as Leo. Tom approached Olive, she was sitting next to her only friend, a brunette pure-blooded witch that immediately stopped talking when she saw Tom walking towards them, she must’ve whispered to Olive as the blonde turned her head to look at him.

  
Tom had great Charisma and power that made Olive stand up and ask, “Hi! Riddle, What’s up?”, she asked nervously, her voice cracking with tension building in her vocal cords. Tom forced a sympathetic face as he said, “I’m just here to offer my condolences for your loss”, Olive's jaw slacked as her eyes squinted and she asked, “Loss?”.

  
Tom nodded and asked, “Didn’t your grandmother recently pass away?”, Olive gave a sound of recognition as she said, “right! My father’s aunt, an awful woman she was. Don’t worry we weren’t that close! Though thanks”.

  
He raised an eyebrow as he asked, “Although she must be close to your brother? He seems… affected by her death”, Olive jaw slacked once again as she narrowed her eyes and said, “He was? I don’t think so, we never saw her… Besides that time in that Christmas party seven years ago! I think she called Leo a git, pretty hilarious if you ask me”. Tom gave her a curt nod then walked away.

  
“Bye Riddle!”, the brunette called as she let a high-pitched giggle.

  
Despite the dry cold, and the occasional gusts of wind coming from the windows; the library looked cozy and inviting, Tom resulted to thinking that the warm effect was coming from the litter of thick books over the library desk. As the sight of bookshelves covering the table, he took from the entrance of the library. 

  
And definitely not because of the steamy cup of milk coffee Rosalie had next to her own pile of books, the cup that seeped a bit of coffee to stamp the shape of the cup on the mahogany table. Her hair swaying with the gusts of wind that came from the window, her face outlined to be soft under the effect of the warm candles and the moonlight.

  
Lately, Rosalie seemed awfully unapproachable. As if she lived in her own bubble, with her elegance she always stood out from between a crowd. However, Tom could barely spot her lately and she only joined the study meetings for the fast approaching championship once in a while, to give him a stack of papers of information she collected, and silently taking his own study guides.

  
Those meetings only lasted five minutes at max, discussing everything professionally and zooming to her dormitory to force the new information inside her head. The smiling Rosalie seemed to stop smiling altogether, when was the last he saw her sincere grin? He can’t recall, at least she never smiled for him.

  
She was still obviously affected by him, she set her boundaries and made it obvious that she would escape if he stepped over a red line.

  
Tom was concerned that she would sway closer to Dumbledore and idiotically spill the secret of that night to the old man. Still, it never happened and if it did then Dumbledore was a great actor; treating him -almost- as if he was like any other student.

  
Rosalie cleared her throat, catching him off-guard from his deep thoughts. Unaware that his stare on her lingered far too long that it made her aware of it, Tom decided that he will be selfish and not take off his look on her; it’s been too long and that’s the least he believed he deserved.

  
On winter break she gave him all the love and care in this entire universe, just for him. She smiled just for him, held his hand, and hugged him so tight he never wanted to leave her inviting embrace. He made her cry, yes, but oh how much he regrets making her scared of him. How much he hated looking at her once joyful eyes fill with pained tears, tears that he caused.

  
“Can you stop looking at me?”, Rosalie asked, still not looking at him. The sound of her quill scratching awkwardly across the parchment stopped hastily as if she forgot how to write from the effects of his powerful gaze.

  
“I cannot”, Tom replied simply after heavy moments, Rosalie finally looked at him. It’s been almost six weeks after he killed his family in front of her, had time been passing that quickly? He wondered. Rosalie tucked her head closer to her chest, hoping to curl away from him as she forced her brain to continue studying.

  
Tom felt a stab in his guts, Rosalie fully ignoring him as if he never took a portion of her head as if she never loved him. She must still love him, she can’t love him for a short time and then build up walls around herself, using the competition as an excuse. Unjust, he thought. Tremendously unfair, he ran over the thought in his head.

  
He had no idea what to do to make her close to him again, it hurts just seeing her slip through his fingers like a fistful of sand. It hurts that they don’t talk anymore, that she stopped expressing her silly trivial thoughts so he can smile at them. Right, he stopped smiling and the feeling of thrill long left his system with Rosalie obliging distances between them.

  
“I want to tell you something”, Tom said, grasping Rosalie's bashful attention. He gulped, wet his lips, and finally said, “I’m sorry”.

  
A single genuine sorry from the person you love means a thousand kisses. As if an apology from him was all she needed to melt the ice that formed around her heart, her eyes glinted with contentment. The look her eyes made reflected on her lips that lifted into a tiny smile, whatever it was, it made Tom pleased. Her hand flipped to let her finger lace with his own, and Tom never thought a single touch would send excitement to his blood.

  
Do you finally understand that I would never hurt you? That you’re the only soul in this world that I care about, please don’t fear me. Figure me out and love me, Tom wanted to tell her. Although his lips sealed shut, enjoying the warmth her hand spread over his slightly colder one. Tom whispered, “I missed you”, a little lower than a whisper; wanting to show his vulnerable side to Rosalie but still testing the waters. 

  
Rosalie didn’t let him down by making him regret that he showed her a side he never showed anybody, with her faint smile widening and the sparkles in her eyes increasing. If a single sorry meant a thousand kisses then an ‘I miss you’ was the equivalent of a million kisses.

  
“Wait”, Rosalie said, hesitation soaking her tone as she pulled her hand away from his grasp. Tom silently watched her with raising curiosity, “Sometimes it feels like we’re friends and sometimes it feels like we’re more”. 

  
When the girl didn’t get an answer from Tom, she shut her books as her wand swayed to gather inside her satchel, “We will talk about it tomorrow”, she said, her face expressionless; trying her best to not sound affected by the lack of his responses. 

  
Tom stood up as well, “I’m afraid I will say something that will make you leave, what do you want us to be?” he said lowly, his eyes darkening at the sight of her skin shining lovingly under the warm candles, Rosalie leaned to blow on one of the candles that magically made the rest of the nightlights shut off as well. 

  
The moon rays that seeped from the many windows scattered across the library made it easy for their eyes to spot each other, taking in the other beauty in the darkness. Tom was reminded of the night in the leaky cauldron when he cut his ties with the orphanage and he slept that night in the narrow bed beside Rosalie, it was the best rest he ever had in his life. 

  
Still, he can’t figure Rosalie out and he’s worried about taking this leap of faith into the arms of Rosalie. That she must’ve wanted a simple friendship and he was put on the same boat as Hornby. Tom wanted more. Oh, how much he wanted to kiss her and be free to obsess over her and to push away anyone thinking they had a place in her heart. He wanted to always be on her mind and heart, to be certain that this woman is his woman and his alone. 

  
A Russian roulette, truly. They had no idea what the other one wanted, entirely frightened that if they muttered any additional words it would be the end of their supposed friendship. Rosalie forced a friendly grin as she said, “We will talk about it tomorrow, okay?”.

  
Tom slowly nodded and watched her exit the library, as she faded with the darkness, and the only thing that indicated her presence was the sound of her heels lightly clicking on the floor until they faded as well. 

  
Still, his fear to reveal his feelings for her increased each time he saw her consoling Leo. Thus, Tom began to avoid Rosalie completely. And it was fairly difficult to avoid her, he loved just knowing her presence was close to him. But his blood boiled seeing the euphoric smile on Leo’s lips just because Rosalie hugged him or held his hand and listened for him only. Until one thought cleared itself inside his mind, if he can’t have her; then no one can.

  
“Prince”, Tom called as soon as he spotted the girl descending from the girls' dormitory into the Slytherin common room, the girl lifted her head and walked towards him. “Riddle”, she called politely as she crossed her arms tighter around her books in hopes of calming her nervous state. 

  
Eileen knew that Tom was at another level. She reckoned she would have the upper hand since she knew a secret of his and Rosalie. However, she found herself at a disadvantage for some vague reason, all the Slytherins had huge respect and fear for him. There’s no way telling everyone that although he was a pure-blood supremacist, he was just orphan half blood. No one would believe her.  
Also, telling Elizabeth that Rosalie was lying to her this whole time didn’t look that great as well, Tom would make sure to get his revenge for putting his Rosalie in an awkward situation. The risk wasn’t worth it, although it would put Eileen's heart at ease knowing that Rosalie; the girl who was the absolute opposite of her was also living her days painfully.

  
“Rosalie told me you’re close friends to her,” Tom began. Eileen agreed, he smirked with amusement, “I don’t believe it, someone who holds envy and jealousy like you would never be able to sincerely be a friend to her”.

  
Eileen hugged her books tighter, feeling as if her clothes were stripped away as well as her lies to look at her core, her ugly core. Yes, he was right, there was no way she would befriend Rosalie. The envy and greed drowning Eileen each time she saw Rosalie wouldn’t let her breathe. 

  
“Of course, if you won’t tell then I won’t”, he said.

  
“What do you want, Riddle?” Eileen hissed dangerously, identical to a prey trying it’s best to fight until the very end. “Do you know Olive Hornby?”, he asked. Eileen approved, “the bully?”.  
“Very well, I want you to make Rosalie be near her…just for Rosalie to strike a conversation with her”.

  
“Agreed, in return… I heard that Walburga and Orion are going to be sneaking out of the dormitory after midnight, it would be a shame if they were caught”.

  
Tom nodded his head with an amused look across his face, “Consider it done”. With that, Eileen stepped out of the Slytherin common room, her mind racing with possible answers to Tom's strange mission. Does he want Rosalie and Olive to start a huge fight? There’s no doubt that Rosalie would win, whether it was a duel or not. 

  
It was a weekend, Sunday on Easter and the Gryffindors joined hands with the Hufflepuffs to host a spectacular Easter hunt out in the exterior of Hogwarts grounds. Rosalie will most certainly be there, as well as Olive Hornby that made sure to express her hate of the idea every day for the last weeks in the great hall whenever she witnesses the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors huddled together at their tables to discuss it.

  
The sun was in the middle of the sky as the greenery of Hogwarts made a beautiful contrast on the bright Easter decoration. The Hufflepuff and the Gryffindor Quidditch teams were making a lovely firework show for the spectators as well as the students that participated in the hunt. Elizabeth was easy to spot with her wearing the most extravagant colored outfit between the broomstick riders, she kept on hysterically giggling as she playfully threw charmed Easter eggs at all the students watching, but zooming around to concentrate on teasing one specific student.

  
Rosalie, she was avoiding Elizabeth charmed Easter eggs by repelling them to turn into playful chocolate birds. To chase Elizabeth and the other spectators. They seemed to be having so much fun that Eileen suddenly had a feeling dawn over her heart, whatever Tom made her do would probably end up in a disturbing way that will most likely ruin this event for everyone.

  
Especially when Rosalie spotted the girl wearing her robes that stood out from everyone wearing their brightest clothes as well as the ridiculous outfits that the entertaining students from both houses wore them. Rosalie excitedly waved at Eileen and shouting joyfully, “Eileen! Hi! Come he-“, and before the girl can finish her words, a charmed Easter egg came to crack on her head as it revealed an Easter bunny acting playfully like Peeves. 

  
Elizabeth giggled harder at the bunny dancing over Rosalie’s head as it pulled on her strands and avoiding the girl’s hands to pluck it off her head. Eileen stifled a giggle as she walked closer to Rosalie, then she helped her take off the bunny that instantly disappeared into a fireworks show as soon as it fell from Rosalie’s head.

  
“What’s up! You told me you won’t be attending this party, anyway I’m so glad you’re here! Look I supervised some of this event and the older Hufflepuffs agreed to make pudding for everyone!”, the brunette pulled Eileen behind her to face the stands that were busily making what seemed to be like cake squished into ice cream into a singular cup. 

  
The atmosphere was loving and joyful, Eileen found herself smiling widely as she took one of the cups a smiling Hufflepuff boy handed her. Just for now, Eileen told herself that she will enjoy her time here. Laughing with Rosalie and Elizabeth and forcing down multiple puddings. Just to make her life a bit sweeter.

  
“Eileen! Watch out!”.

  
The awestricken Eileen could barely look up from the pretty dessert in the cup to notice a charmed Easter egg aiming for her face. Luckily, Rosalie repelled it with her wand to make the egg explode into an attractive firework show in front of Eileen’s eyes. Her eyes shined wonderfully at the show. And as it finished, she giggled happily and looked at Rosalie then at Elizabeth that landed gracefully from her Meteor shower one thousand broomsticks. 

  
“Dirty move, Beth! You never attack people when they’re not looking!”, Rosalie scolded playfully as she hit Elizabeth’s upper arm. “It’s more fun this way! Also, Eileen is laughing so it’s a point to me, right?”, the blonde directed her last words to Eileen that shook her head to stifle a sincere giggle. Is this how it feels to have friends that will make you laugh?  
“Besides the point, try the pudding! Is it good? We were torn about serving cake or ice cream but then a genius Hufflepuff said that we should combine them”, Elizabeth urged excitedly as she took another spoon from the stand beside them to share Eileen’s cup. “It’s lovely”, Eileen shortly commented as she continued to finish the pudding with Elizabeth. 

  
“munch slower you two, here have another one”, Rosalie said as her hand thrust another dessert cup into Eileen’s hands, Elizabeth's eyes lit up in a wonderful idea as she asked Eileen, “Hey! Want to fly with me and throw charmed eggs at timid first years?”.

  
Eileen couldn’t hide the smile forming on her lips as she agreed to Elizabeth’s offer, the blonde whispered to Eileen, “Let’s just bully Rosalie and by the end of the party let’s make her have at least ten bunnies over her head!”.

  
“I heard that!”, Rosalie shouted over the music and the crowd noises, glaring at her two friends. Then her eyes fell on the stack of books above the grass that belonged to Eileen without a doubt, “Where you headed somewhere?”, Rosalie asked, motioning at the books. 

  
Eileen glanced at them, deciding that she will forget about the mission for now. She will simply tell Tom that Olive was nowhere near Rosalie and that Rosalie began suspecting her, what’s the worst that could happen?

  
“I was heading to the library but figured I would come to look”, Eileen replied. Rosalie and Elizabeth exchanged knowing looks, the Slytherin looked at them anxiously as she muttered a noiseless ‘what’. Elizabeth instantly snatched the pudding cup from Eileen’s hands as she and Rosalie both forced Eileen to sit on Elizabeth’s broomstick, “then you must participate in the hunt! You can’t be studying all the time!”, the blonde shouted joyfully and sat on her broomstick in front of Eileen.

  
Eileen tried her best to resist the two girls, but she failed miserably as Elizabeth’s broomstick glided over the grass steadily, Rosalie reassured Eileen, “Elizabeth’s a great flier! I rode with her ten times and only fell seven times!”.

  
The energetic duo chuckled at Eileen's reaction, “I’m just joking! Have fun!”.

  
“You’re not joining?”, Elizabeth asked with a tilt of her head, Rosalie shook her head as she tried to wipe off the huge smile she had, “I have to check on Leo”. Elizabeth frowned; Rosalie added before the blonde could argue “He is recovering from his depression! I will see you both later!” then she disappeared between the sea of students running around. 

  
“What’s up with Leo?”, Eileen asked as Elizabeth kicked off to fly at a moderate speed over the trick hoops that were specifically put for the Easter hunt, “His grandmother passed away a while ago and he’s pretty sad about it”. 

  
“I believed that he was sad at first, but lately I think he’s just using it as an excuse to have Rosalie fawn over him”, Elizabeth added.

  
Everything clicked into Eileen’s mind, Tom was trying to make Olive and Rosalie talk so he can cut out Leo from Rosalie’s life. “Do you get jealous of Rosalie?”, Eileen asked absentmindedly only realizing her difficult question when Elizabeth replied with a laugh. To her surprise, Elizabeth shook her head, “Her life is hard, everyone is suffering in their lives, but the only difference is the portrayal of their life”.

  
Elizabeth’s words were spot on, as the second Rosalie reached the supposed quieter side of the grounds, a crowd was gathering in one area. The girl decided to turn a blind eye, for now, search for Leo, sit with him for a while to make sure he’s feeling well, and then join the fun on the other side of the grounds. 

  
However, her mental plan didn’t go through as the guilt of letting a fight occur, especially with her prefect badge shining under the sunrays. Rosalie hoped that this fight would be broken up easily, and so Rosalie took out her wand and jogged towards the crowd. “a prefect is here! Make way! Excuse me!- I said to make way!”, she kept on chanting as she pushed her way inside the circle. 

  
And merlin did she regret putting her nose where it didn’t belong, she stood face to face with Leo Hornby and Tom Riddle pointing their wands at each other. “Perfect! Rosalie is here! Come here and tell this filth-“

  
“Don’t drag her into this!”, Tom growled, his words falling on deaf ears as Leo pulled Rosalie to his side and said, “Tell this deformed rubbish that you’re on my side!”. Rosalie snatched her upper arm from Leo’s grasp, “What is going on?”.

  
“Mr. Hornby had been lying to you this whole time about his grandmother that died, he doesn’t even know her name”, Tom explained to Rosalie, the shock overwhelming her as the crowd circle seemed to tighten and everything happening around her looked like a dream or more of a nightmare than a dream.

  
Tom pointed at a blonde girl, that Rosalie had to look at for five seconds to recognize her identity with the shock drowning her system, it was Olive Hornby. “His sister told me herself that he never met his supposed grandmother”.

  
Rosalie's head was spinning, unable to process any more words or the defensive arguments Leo was making. This whole time, this whole time she offered her sincere affection to make sure he was feeling alright because she cared for him as a friend, but he was just using her…? Her heart stopped beating on her ribcage but instead began to beat inside her spinning head. 

  
“Rosalie! You’re on my side, right?! You know he’s lying, right?!”, Leo said. 

  
“Rosalie, you know that he’s caught in a big lie, right?”, Tom said. 

  
And her head only spanned faster and faster as the crowd attention was only on her. So she did the only thing she saw fit at that moment, to turn into a panther and sprint towards the forbidden forest. She wasn’t scared about what she will face if she will see a far scarier predator than her Animagus form.

  
How could Leo fool her, and how did he have the heart to fool someone that fully trusted and cared for him? Above all of that, Rosalie blamed only herself. All this time he fooled her, and she didn’t have an idea. He looked so innocent and looked so sad. How could she get fooled this easily?

  
Rosalie was angry at everyone, at herself for not noticing. At Leo for breaking her trust, at Tom for revealing the truth to her. Ignorance is bliss after all. She can feel her blood boiling as she kept going over what happened inside her head. Leo Hornby fooled her, even his sister agreed on that. 

  
Why was he fooling her? What was his use of her? She made it obvious that she won’t date him ever again, from the previous year she told him she wasn’t interested, he pleaded with her this year claiming she didn’t give him a chance, and so she gave him a chance. Still, he wasn’t satisfied and decided that the way to get attention would be lying to her.

  
She sat by the trunk of a tree, noticing that the early evening sun began to set. Nevertheless, Rosalie's rage didn’t allow her to simply return to the castle, she was furious and knew if she saw Leo she would do something reckless. Also, the news will be spreading like wildfire and the rumors would break through the facts. 

  
People don’t care about the truth, they just love the drama. 

  
Everyone would label her as the idiotic Hufflepuff that blindly trusted a supposed friend and got fooled on. They would view her as a pathetic fool, just the mere thought that she would lose all the respect she earned made her scream in rage at the thought of what she would do to Leo if she saw him again. 

  
“There you are”.

  
Rosalie pivoted on her heel to face Tom, standing a few feet away from her. He smirked as he said, “Followed the smell of charity work and found you”. Rosalie crossed her arms and demanded, “Leave me alone!”.

  
Tom shook his head, nearing her “What did I tell you about being foolishly kind? What’s next now? For your only friend to turn up on you”.

  
“Stop it”, Rosalie hissed.

  
“Why? Because I’m right? Hate to see your ridiculous kindness be used against you?”.

  
“What about you? Making me wait for weeks just to hear your silly little answer! Can’t you make up your mind?!”.

  
“Shut your mouth you don’t know anything!”, Tom shouted.

  
Rosalie scoffed with a sarcastic smirk, “Oh yes I do! You’re just like Leo, at least he was obvious about his feelings from the start, but you? You keep going back and forth!”.

  
Everything was going downhill anyway, Rosalie felt herself lose her logic and her rage was leading her to scream at Tom, to force all the frustration from the past months out right now. Right, Leo or Tom, they’re all the worst. One using her and the other avoiding her each time she brought up what they should lapel this tie. 

  
“You’re just like him, I hate you both so much!”, Rosalie cried. With no tears, she was simply beyond angry to concentrate on her sadness. 

  
“I said shut your mouth! I’m not like him!”, Tom shouted, losing his sense of logic as all he saw was red. “Make me!”, Rosalie stomped angrily, her knuckles turning white from her tight fist. Everything happened so quickly, but all she can see was Tom harshly pushing her to the tree trunk, and shutting her lips by pressing his own on hers.

* * *

**Happy new year everyone! I can't believe I have been working on this book for six months! Feedback is always appreciated <3**


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